LESSONS  WITH  NATURE 
Albert  Leonidas  Mebane 


LESSONS  WITH 
NATURE 


FOR  SCHOOL,  GARDEN 
FARM  AND  HOME 


By  ALBERT  LEONIDAS  MEBANE 


LESSONS  WITH  NATURE 


FOR 

SCHOOL,  GARDEN,  FARM  AND  HOME 


BY 


ALBERT  LEONIDAS  MEBANE,  B.  Agr.,  M.  S.  A. 

Superintendent  of  Farm  and  Instructor  in  Agronomy 
Agricultural  and  Technical  College,  Greensboro,  N.C. 

Formerly 

Director  of  the  Agricultural  Department, 

Eastern  Branch  Maryland  Agricultural  College, 

Princess  Anne,  Md. 

Landscape  Gardener,  Tuskegee  Institute,  Ala. 

Director  Agricultural  Department  Ky.  N.  &  I.  Institute 

Frankfort,  Ky. 

Principal  Williston  Graded  School,  Wilmington,  N.  C. 


W.  H.  Fisher  Co.,  Greensboro,  N.  C. 


-A  » 


A  Good  Crop 


T  O  M Y  TAR  E N T  S 


Born  in  slavery,  but  thoughtful  in  freedom,  this  little  work 
is  affectionately  inscribed  as  a  slight  tribute  to  their  great 
desire  and  wise  and  sympathetic  advice  that  served  to  instill 
in  me  a  love  for  all  that  pertains  to  farm  life. 


ACKN  O  AV  L  E  D  G  E  M  ENTS 


The  writer  wishes  to  express  here  his  indebtedness  to  Dr. 
S.  it.  Jones,  Director  of  Academic  Department,  A.  &  T.  College, 
Greensboro,  X.  C.,  for  critical  reading*  of  the  manuscript  and 
for  the  many  helpful  suggestins  offered  by  him. 

Grateful  acknowledgement  is  also  due  my  wife,  Mrs.  Blanche 
(  .  Mebane,  for  valuable  assistance  in  working  out  the  material 
for  the  experiments. 


1»  Si  E  V  \  €  E 


The  purpose  of  this  pamphlet  is  to  stimulate  the  study  of 
agriculture  in  our  public  schools  and  our  homes  so  as  to  give 
the  teacher  as  well  as  the  pupil  a  clearer  idea  of  how  to  present 
and  study  various  topics  on  agriculture. 

I  trust  that  this  booklet  will  help  to  pave  the  way  for  other 
Negro  writers  on  agricultural  subjects. 

In  many  of  our  public  schools  the  subject  of  agriculture  is 
not  receiving  the  attention  that  it  deserves.  In  my  opinion, 
agriculture  should  be  taught  in  all  of  our  schools  outside  of 
the  larger  cities.  Everything  is  beginning  to  point  that  way 
now,  and  it  is  believed  by  many  that  the  near  future  will  find 
agriculture  in  every  public  school  on  par  value  with  the  other 
subjects  of  the  course.  Agriculture  is  a  fundamental  subject 
and  should  be  taught  as  such,  it  is  surprising  to  know  how 
many  children  really  believe  that  potatoes  grow  on  trees,  how 
many  teachers  think  pineapples  do,  and  hold  as  absurd  and 
erroneous  ideas  of  many  common  things. 

Agriculture,  when  properly  taught,  not  only  opens  up  the 
common  things  to  the  pupil,  but  will  develop  the  mind  and 
make  the  child  broader  in  ideas.  In  places  where  the  school 
gardens  are  carried  on,  the  child  is  developed  physically  as 
well  as  mentally.  It  is  the  study  of  Nature  that  creates  in  the 
individual  a  love  for  it,  and  will  help  him  to  fully  appreciate 
that  “God  is  present  everywhere.”  The  helpful  influences 
which  we  gather  from  the  study  of  agriculture  in  our  public 
schools  will  go  farther  than  the  school  room.  It  will  enter  the 
home;  stimulating  the  pupils  to  beautify  their  lawns  by  plant¬ 
ing  flowers  and  grass;  the  back  yards  will  be  made  into  vege¬ 
table  and  flower  gardens,  and  all  unproductive  places  will  be 
made  productive.  Furthermore,  the  teaching  of  planting  gar¬ 
dens,  building  lawns,  planting  trees  and  taking  care  of  the 
same  will  develop  in  the  child  industry  and  thrift. 

In  a  state  like  North  Carolina  where  about  eighty  per  cent, 
of  her  people  live  in  the  rural  districts,  the  successful  teacher 
will  constantly  make  references  to  the  facts  and  principles  of 
agriculture,  even  while  teaching  the  other  branches  of  study. 
The  city  pupils  should  become  more  acquainted  with  rural  life, 


and  the  country  pupils  should  know  more  of  The  life  surround¬ 
ing  them,  and  be  encouraged  to  remain  upon  the  farm  and  de- 
yelop  its  resources.  In  view  of  these  facts,  it  seems  to  be 
great  importance  for  the  pupils  to  be  taught  more  about  the 
things  which  they  see.  handle,  wear  and  eat  every  day. 

In  this  pamphlet  no  effort  has  l>een  made  to  present  any¬ 
thing  new.  nor  is  any  topic  ti  d  exhaustively.  The  object 
sought  in  these  lessons  is  simply  suggest  some  practical 
things  that  will  be  of  some  real  value  to  i!i">e  who  love  Nature. 
These  lessons  and  experimei  ts  n  I  e  o  itlome  of  the  nature 
talks  that  the  writer  gave  to  the  s»*veio;  -irade  pupils  while 
Principal  of  the  Williston  Graded  s«  •><»;.  Wilmington.  N.  C. 

At  the  end  of  this  volume  a  few  simple  additional  experi¬ 
ments  have  been  added,  which  may  ;  very  helpful  to  the 
voting  minds.  A.  L.  ME  BANE. 

Agricultural  and  Technical  College,  G  s  N.  C. 

Nov.  1.  1917. 


CONTE  X T  S 


Lesson 

1. 

Lesson 

o 

- .  ss 

o 

o. 

Lesson 

4. 

L  ss  D 

5. 

Le>s«;»n 

6. 

Lesson 

4  • 

L —  n 

x  ^ 

Less 

9. 

Less  d 

10. 

Lessen  11. 

1  oJSSt  111  12. 

Lesson  13. 

Lesson  14. 

Lesson  15. 

1  ’ll 

10. 

'ii  1 7. 


How  rlit-  >  ill  was  Formed 


PAGE 


S 


Classification  of  Soils . 

Humus:  How  Formed  . 

Plant  Food  in  the  Soil . 

Air:  A  Source  of  Plant  Food.  . . 
The  Supply  of  Water  in  the  Soil 

S  1  M  m  gement  . 

Why  Soils  Become  Unproductive 


12 


13 

10 

IS 


♦70 

— o 


25 


Acid  or  Sour  Soils .  27 

Manures :  Green,  Barnyard  and  Commercial . .  27 

Rotation  of  Crops .  32 

How  Varieties  of  Plants  Are  Produced. ......  30 

Seel  Testing  .  38 

Making  Gardens  and  Choosing  the  Proper  Seed  41 

Field  and  Garden  Crops:  Their  Culture .  49 

How  to  Treat  Diseased  Garden  Plants  and  the 
Making  of  Fungicides  and  Insecticides. .  .  58 

Additional  Experiments  . ah 


\ 


HOW  THE  SOU;  WAS  FORMED 
Lesson  Plan  1. 

I.  Purpose  of  the  Lesson— To  acquaint  the  pupils  with  some¬ 

thing  of  the  origin  of  the  earth. 

II.  Analysis  of  the  Subject  Matter. — 

(a)  Origin  of  the  soil. 

(b)  Several  agents  that  help  to  make  the  soil. 

(c)  Three  sources  of  soils. 

III.  Method  of  Presentations.— Take  the  pupils  down  to  some 

creek  or  river.  Examine  the  soils  found  there.  Tabulate 
the  result.  By  the  color  of  the  soil,  let  the  pupils  deter¬ 
mine  whether  it  is  fertile  or  not.  Why  is  the  soil  more 
fertile  near  the  stream  than  on  I  he  hill  side  near  by? 
Dry  the  samples  of  the  soils  collected.  Note  the  change 
in  color.  Explain  what  makes  the  change. 


Lesson  1 . 


We  are  told  bv  some  of  the  wise  scientists  that  in  the  dim 
past  the  earth  was  a  part  of  the  sun,  which  was  thrown  off  into 
space  in  a  molten  condition  and  held  there  by  a  great  force 
which  is  called  gravity.  After  many,  many  years  this  molten 
mass,  called  the  earth,  cooled  and  became  rock  bound.  This 
condition  existed  a  long,  long  time  before  any  great  changes 
occurred.  In  this  early  age  of  the  earth’s  existence  there  were 
many  agents  at  work  liberating  the  plant  food  which  was 
locked  up  in  the  rocky  mass.  Doubtless  the  water  was  the 
greatest  agent  in  bringing  about  the  results  by  which  plant 
food  could  be  made  available.  This  was  effected  by  the  force  of 
falling  rains,  hail  and  snow.  All  of  these  would  enter  the 
crevices  of  the  rocks  and  force  them  open  upon  freezing. 

The  sun  has  played  an  important  part  in  forming  soil.  We 
all  know  when  a  blacksmith  puts  a  tire  on  a  wheel,  he  always 
heats  it.  When  in  this  condition,  he  fits  it  to  the  wooden  rim 
(aml  then  cools  it  suddenly  in  a  bucket  of  water.  What  hap¬ 
pens  to  the  tire?  We  notice  that  it  fits  closely.  This  teaches 


8 


us  that  heat  expands  substances  and  cold  shortens  or  contracts 
them.  One  often  puts  the  top  of  a  fruit  jar  in  hot  water  before 
opening  it.  The  railroad  irons  lit  closely  in  summer  while  in 


winter  they  are  wide  apart.  What  makes  these  changes?  Now 
the  sun  acts  upon  the  rocks  the  same  way.  In  the  summer,  the 
hot  sun  expands  the  rocks  and  at  night  they  cool.  This  will 
tend  to  make  crevices  and  many  times  break  off  pieces.  Notice 
the  rocks  in  your  neighborhood,  do  you  see  any  crevices  in 
them?  Can  you  remove  any  small  pieces  off  of  them?  This  is 
the  result  of  heat  and  cold. 


1  luring  the  early  days  of  earth  formation  there  was  a  class 
of  plants  that  was  capable  of  decomposing  the  rocks  by  feeding 
on  some  of  the  insoluble  compounds  and  making  them  soluble. 
■These  plants  which  grew  were  very  simple  in  structure,  yet 
they  were  able  to  live  upon  the  mineral  constituents  alone  and 
derive  their  nitrogen  from  the  air.  These  very  tiny  plants  were 
active  in  the  early  formation  period.  After  this  bacterial  age, 
as  it  might  be  called,  larger  plants  were  able  to  grow,  such  as 
lichens  and  mosses.  These  were  also  able  to  grow  upon  solid 
rocks  and  obtain  a  great  deal  of  their  food  from  the  air,  and  in 
their  death  and  decaying  bacteria  acted  upon  them,  forming 
■humus  which  is  so  essential  to  plant  growth.  Larger  plants 
grew  on  the  sandy-loam  which  had  been  formed,  their  roots 
penetrating  the  rock  crevices  and  farther  splitting  them.  The 
roots  also  died,  rotted  and  finally  becoming  humus.  They  left 
openings  in  the  rocks  so  water  could  freely  penetrate.  The 
soils  and  rocks  are  still  being  acted  upon  by  oxidation,  gravi¬ 
tation,  winds,  rain  water,  tides,  earthquakes,  animals,  worms 
and  countless  other  things,  all  of  them  tending  further  to  pul¬ 
verize  the  soil  particles  and  making  them  finer  in  texture. 

The  soils  which  we  have  in  our  own  vicinity  come  from  one 
of  the  three  sources;  namely,  the  alluvial  soil,  or  soil  which 
has  been  brought  from  a  distance  by  a  stream,  as  the  black  land 
on  the  river  bank  ;  sedimentary,  or  a  soil  which  has  been  formed 
out  of  the  rock  just  beneath  it;  and  the  glacial  soil,  that  soil 
which  has  been  brought  down' from  the  North  by  the  glaciers, 
in  the  glacial  period.  The  glacial  soils  will  not  be  found  in  the 
South  as  glaciers  did  not  extend  farther  south  than  Pennsvl- 


9 


Studying  Soils 


vania.  Therefore,  all  of  the  Southern  soils  are  from  the  two 
first  sources  mentioned  above. 

As  some  one  has  said,  the  soil  is  the  home  of  the  plant.  It  is 
the  upper  layer  of  the  surface  of  the  earth.  We  can  always 
recognize  it  by  the  color,  the  organic  matter  found  in  the  soil 
giving  it  the  dark  color.  Just  beneath  the  soil  is  the  sub-sur¬ 
face  soil  which  may  contain  some  vegetable  matter.  The  roots 
may  get  some  food  from  t.  This  soil  is  generally  at  the  bottom 
of  the  furrow  made  by  the  farmer’s  plow.  The  sub-soil  can  be 
clearly  distinguished  from  the  two  other  soils  mentioned  above. 
As  a  rule  it  is  red  in  color,  very  compact,  not  productive  and 
composed  almost  entirely  of  clay. 

Now  that  we  have  learned  something  about  the  soil,  its 
origin,  and  how  it  was  made,  let  us  examine  the  depth.  Dig  a 
hole  a  few  feet  deep.  Are  there  any  differences  in  the  color  of 
the  top  and  bottom  soils?  Which  contains  more  clay?  Which 
is  the  darker?  The  dark  soil  contains  the  vegetable  matter. 
Notice  liow  deep  the  farmer  plows  his  land.  From  the  above 
questions  can  you  determine  the  part  of  the  soil  from  which  the 
plant  draws  its  food?  All  fertile  soils  contain  organic  matter 
and  mineral  matter. 


To  make  certain  that  the  above  lesson  is  thoroughly  under¬ 
stood  by  the  class,  the  teacher  should  ask  the  following  ques¬ 
tions  : 

1.  What  two  kinds  of  material  do  we  find  in  the  soils? 

2.  Do  soils  vary  in  amount  of  organic  matter  they  contain? 

3.  When  you  add  manure  to  the  soil  what  effect  does  it  have 
on  the  color  and  texture  of  the  soil? 

4.  What  is  a  soil,  a  sub-surface  soil,  a  sub-soil? 

5.  What  is  a  productive  soil?  Is  the  sub-soil  productive? 

Why  not?  •'  ^ 

fi.  Give  briefly  the  origin  of  the  soil  and  how  it  was  made. 

Experiment  No.  1. 

Object — To  secure  samples  of  soils  for  further  work.  • 
Material — Soil  collecting  boxes,  small  digger  and  a  shovel;  * 

11 


Procedure — Collect  and  classify  the  soils  of  the  community. 
Have  each  pupil  in  the  class  to  bring  samples  of  the  soils  found 
on  his  farm  or  garden.  Quart  samples  will  be  large  enough. 
Empty  each  sample  out  of  the  collecting  boxes  on  separate 
sheets  of  paper  and  compare  the  samples.  Put  all  samples  to¬ 
gether  that  are  very  much  alike,  so  as  to  reduce  the  number. 
Before  putting  samples  away,  thoroughly  dry  and  pulverize 
them.  In  most  localities  it  will  be  an  easy  matter  to  secure 
samples  of  sand,  clay,  clay-loam,  loam,  gravelly  and  organic 
soils. 


(CLASSIFICATION  OF  SOILS 


Lesson  Plan  2. 

I.  Purpose  of  the  Lesson. — To  familiarize  the  pupils  with 

various  kind  of  soils. 

II.  Analysis  of  the  Subject  Matter. — 

(a)  Define  each  kind  of  soil. 

(b)  Discuss  the  advantages  of  a  sandy-loam  and  the 
disadvantages  of  a  clay. 

(c)  Experiment. 

III.  Method  of  Presentation. — -The  method  of  teaching  the 

above  outline,  is  to  examine  the  different  kinds  of  soils 
that  have  been  collected  and  classify  them.  Each  mem¬ 
ber  in  the  class  should  perform  the  experiments.  Before 
leaving  this  lesson,  be  sure  the  pupils  are  well  acquaint¬ 
ed  with  all  kinds  of  soils  in  the  vicinity  of  the  school- 
house. 

Lesson  2. 

1.  Loamy  Soils. — These  soils  are  composed  of  about  equal 
amounts  of  sand  and  clay  with  a  great  deal  of  organic  mattei: 
in  them. 

2.  Sandy  Loam. — From  the  name  one  can  see  that  this  soil 
contains  more  sand  than  clay,  also  in  such  soils  will  be  found  a 
great  deal  of  organic  matter. 

3.  Sandy  Soil — Composed  largely  of  sand,  such  a  soil  is  poor 
farming  land. 


12 


4.  Clay  Loam. — Contains  more  clay  than  sand  with  more  or 
less  organic  matter. 

5.  Clay  Soil. — Composed  largely  of  clay,  very  sticky  when 
wet,  difficult  to  work,  a  very  cold  soil,  because  of  its  great 
capacity  to  hold  water. 

6.  Gravelly  Soil. — This  soil  is  made  up  of  pebbles  as  large 
as  bird  eggs.  Such  soils  are  generally  poor  in  vegetable  matter. 

7.  Organic  Soil. — The  black  soil  of  swamps,  decayed  wood 
and  leaves  with  earth,  etc. 

Experiment  No.  2. 

Object — To  note  the  effect  of  stirring  soils  when  too  wet. 

Material — Sand,  loam,  clay,  clay-loam,  gravelly  and  organic 
soils.  Several  small  pans  and  some  water. 

Procedure. — Place  in  separate  pans  one  pint  each  of  the 
above  named  soils.  Wet  each  soil  thoroughly;  stir  two  min* 
utes;  set  the  pans  containing  the  wet  soils  in  the  sun  to  dry. 
What  is  the  result  upon  drying? 

Experiment  No.  3. 

Object — To  teach  the  pupils  what  happens  to  soils  when  they 
are  worked  or  stirred  at  the  proper  time  after  a  rain. 

Material — -Same  as  used  in  experiment  Number  2. 

Procedure. — Now  take  a  similar  lot  of  soils  as  in  last  experi¬ 
ment;  put  in  pans;  wet  thoroughly;  do  not  stir;  set  these  in 
the  sunshine  to  dry.  What  happened  to  the  soils  in  the  last 
experiment?  When  comparatively  dry  stir  these  lots  of  soils. 
Compare  this  lot  of  soils  with  those  in  the  last  experiment. 
Should  the  soil  be  stirred  while  wet?  Why  not?  Should  the 
soil  be  stirred  when  it  is  dry  enough  after  a  rain  ?  Give  a  good 
reason  why  it  should  be. 

HUMUS 


Lesson  Plan  3. 

I.  Purpose  of  the  Lesson.— To  study  the,  service  of  humus  to 
soil,  and  in  turn  to  the  farmer. 


13 


M.  Analysis  of  the  Subject  Matter. — 

(a)  How  humus  is  formed. 

-  (b)  Value  of  humus. 

. ,  (c)  Why  the  soil  has  its  dark  color. 

(d)  How  to  maintain  humus  in  the  soil. 

III.  Method  of  Presentation. — Ask  the  pupils  to  bring  to  the 
-  -•■it;  schoolroom  some  fertile  soil  out  of  the  woods.  The 
Tti  teacher  will  show  the  class  that  humus  is  the  product 
formed  by  the  decaying  of  organic  matter.  Plowing 
manure  under,  in  time,  forms  humus. 


-r  • 


Lesson  3. 


Humus  is  the  product  formed  by  the  decaying  of  organic  mat¬ 
ter.  The  dark  material,  which  we  find  in  the  woods  near  a  rot¬ 
ten  tree  and  stumps,  decayed  leaves  and  the  like,  is  humus.  In 
fact,  as  a  rule,  the  humus  in  the  soil  is  that  which  gives  it  that 
dark  rich  color  that  we  liud  when  vegetable  matter  is  abundant. 
Partly  decayed  vegetable  matter  is  not  humus.  Humus  is 
formed  by  the  action  of  small  plants  which  are  called  bacteria, 
on  organic  substances  in  the  presence  of  moisture,  air  and  a 
certain  amount  of  heat. 

Soils  where  no  cropping  has  been  carried  on,  as  a  rule,  are 
rich  in  humus,  especially  if  trees  and  grasses  have  been  grow¬ 
ing  on  them. 

r  Some  of  the  principal  uses  of  humus  are:  First,  it  furnishes 
abundant  food  for  the  growing  plant.  All  dead  organic  mat¬ 
ter  is  composed  of  nitrogen,  which  is  so  very  essential  to  plant 
growth.  Hydrogen,  oxygen  and  carbon  will  also  be  found  in  all 
dead  organic  matter.  Second,  humus  improves  the  texture  of 
the  soil;  sandy  soils  will  be  made  more  compact,  thereby  in¬ 
creasing  their  capacity  to  hold  water;  while  on  the  other  hand, 
it  unites  with  clay,  makes  it  less  retentive,  and  therefore  more 
porous.  Humus  being  of  a  loose,  tine  texture,  increases  the 
capacity  for  capillary  water  in  sandy  soils,  while  in  clay  soils 
it  acts  just  the  opposite. 

Plant  food  must  be  in  a  soluble  condition,  that  is  watery, 
before  the  root-hairs  can  use  it.  In  order  to  get  the  food  in 
this  liquid  state  there  must  be  a  sufficient  supply  of  capillary 


14 


moisture  in  the  soil.  If  this  moisture  is  lacking  in  the  soil  it 
may  be  increased  by  adding  organic  matter  to  it  or  by  making 
the  soil  particles  finer  in  texture. 

The  root  structure  is  very  intricate;  that  is,  it  is  very  diffi¬ 
cult  for  beginners  to  understand  it.  For  example,  take  a  turnip 
or  any  of  the  garden  plants  which  have  tap  roots.  Notice  that 
leaving  this  large  root  in  all  directions  are  smaller  roots,,  and 
there  are  still  smaller  ones  attached  to  these  rootlets,  which 
cannot  be  seen  with  the  naked  eye.  These  are  called  hair  roots 
bcause  they  are  so  small,  and  yet,  all  of  the  food  which  comes 
from  the  earth  must  pass  through  them  before  getting  into  the 
body  of  the  plant.  Most  of  these  little  rootlets  are  unicellular 
(one-celled  organisms)  filled  with  an  albuminous  substance 
known  to  the  scientists  as  protoplasm,  which  forms  the  physi¬ 
cal  basis  of  all  life. 

The  questions  now  arising  in  our  minds  is  how  liquid  food 
enters  these  little  hair  roots.  This  is  done  by  a  process  called 
osmosis.  It  has  been  observed  that,  if  a  dense  liquid  is  separ¬ 
ated  from  a  less  dense  one  by  a  thin  membrane  they  will  grad¬ 
ually  mix,  only  the  weaker  liquid  will  How  much  the  faster. 

Experiment  No.  4. 

Object— To  show  the  class  some  hair  roots. 

Material. — Some  small  grains:  Wheat,  oats,  rye  or  some 
garden  seed.  Two  plates,  two  pieces  of  blotting  paper  and 
some  water. 

Procedure. — Germinate  some  of  the  seed  you  have  between 
two  pieces  of  wet  blotting  paper.  Put  the  blotting  paper  con¬ 
taining  the  seed  between  two  plates,  so  as  to  preserve  the  mois¬ 
ture.  Put  the  plates  in  a  warm  place.  Examine  the  roots  in  a 
few  days.  Note  the  fine  white  material.  These  are  hair  roots, 
one-celled  tubes  which  take  in  most  of  the  plant  food  from  the 
soil  passes  through  the  roots  to  all  parts  of  the  plants.  Thous¬ 
ands  of  these  root  hairs  are  found  on  a  single  root. 

Experiment  No.  5. 

Object. — To  show  how  the  water  passes  through  the  root 
hairs. 


15 


Material.— Wide  month  bottle,  an  egg,  glass  tube  and  water. 
Procedure. — Take  an  egg,  remove  a  part  of  the  shell  from  the 
larger  end  of  the  egg  without  breaking  the  skin  just  beneath 
the  shell,  also  remove  the  shell  off  of  Ihe  small  end  of  the  egg 


(one-half  of  an  inch  in  diameter) .  Insert  the  glass  tube  a  short 
distance  in  the  small  end  of  the  egg,  seal  around  the  tube  with' 
sealing  wax.  Fill  the  bottle  with  water,  and  place  the  large 
end  of  the  egg  on  the  bottle  in  the  water.  In  the  course  of  a 
few  hours  it  will  be  seen  that  the  white  of  the  egg  and  water 
will  be  flowing  up  the  tube.  This  water  is  making  its  way 
through  the  membrane  by  osmotic  process.  In  the  same  way 
water  laden  with  plant  food  enters  the  plants  through  their 


tiny  roots  hairs. 

After  the  liquid  enters  the  root  cells,  there  must  be  some 
force  to  carry  it  to  the  top  of  the  plant.  In  an  animal  we  can 
very  well  understand  how  the  blood  is  forced  to  all  parts  of  the 
body;  there  is  an  engine  which  does  it.  No  such  exists  in  the 
plants,  therefore  there  must  be  some  other  force.  The  water 
is  carried  to  all  parts  of  the  plants  by  means  of  capillary  at¬ 
traction,  which  is  a  power  that  tends  to  raise  the  level  of  the 
liquid  in  a  small  tube  if  it  is  inserted  in  a  vessel  of  water. 


Experiment  No.  (i. 


Object. — To  show  that  plant  roots  can  absorb  some  food 
from  solid  rocks. 

Material. — A  polish  piece  of  marble,  some  wet  saw  dust  and 
some  seed. 

Procedure. — Take  a  polished  piece  of  marble;  put  some  wet 
saw  dust  on  it  and  plant  some  seed  in  the  saw  dust.  After  the 
seed  germinates,  let  the  plants  stand  for  about  ten  days.  Is  the 
marble  rough  when  the  saw  dust  is  removed?  What  does  this 
prove?  Does  not  this  show  that  the  root  hairs  of  a  root  system 
can  gather  some  food  from  undissolved  material?  This  is  done 
by  certain  acids  being  secreted  in  the  membrane. 

PLANT  FOOD  IN  THE  SOIL 
Lesson  Plan  4. 

.1  Purpose  of  the  Lesson. — To  teach  the  pupils  that  soils 


16 


must  contain  certain  elements  in  an  available  condition 
for  plant  growth. 

IT.  Analysis  of  the  Subject  Matter.— 

(a)  Plants  depend  upon  the  soil  for  food. 

(b)  Name  of  the  necessary  elements  for  plant  produc¬ 

tion. 

(c)  Elements  that  are  deficient  in  many  soils. 

III.  Method  of  Presentation. — This  lesson,  while  it  brings  some 
technical  names  to  the  class,  may  be  conducted  in  such  a  way 
that  the  names  of  the  elements  will  be  remembered  and  will  be 
of  practical  use  in  later  years.  The  teacher  should  call  the 
pupils’  attention  to  the  fact  that  plants  get  their  food  from 
two  sources;  namesly,  the  soil  and  the  air. 

Lesson  4. 

We  have  already  learned  that  the  plants  must  depend  upon 
the  soil  for  food,  therefore,  it  is  necessary  that  the  soil  should 
be  supplied  with  it  in  an  available  condition  so  the  roots  of  the 
plants  can  readily  take  it  up  and  use  it.  Then  we  ask  ourselves 
the  question,  What  is  plant  food?  To  answer  such  a  question, 
let  us  go  to  the  plant  and  ask  it  of  what  is  it  composed?  Let 
us  for  convenience  take  a  corn  plant  which  has  already  been 
analyzed.  It  has  been  found  out  that  a  corn  plant  contains  the 
following  elements :  namely,  carbon,  nitrogen,  oxygen,  hydro¬ 
gen,  silica,  lime,  potash,  magnesia,  phosphorus,  sodium,  chlor¬ 
ine,  sulphur,  iron  and  a  trace  of  aluminum.  These  make  up  the 
food  for  the  plant  and  they  are  essential  for  plant  development. 
The  above-named  constituents  will  be  found  in  all  growing 
plants  in  different  proportions. 

Fletcher  in  his  book  on  soils,  states  that  “No  one  kind  of 
rock  contains  all  of  the  elements,  but  all  of  the  rocks  from 
which  fertile  soil  is  made  contain  at  least  seven  of  them:  Nit¬ 
rogen,  potassium,  phosphorous,  calcium,  iron,  magnesia  and 
sulphur.  No  plant  can  grow  successfully  unless  these  seven 
are  present  in  the  soil.  They  constitute  from  80  to  90  per  cent, 
of  the  most  fertile  soils.” 

King  says  in  his  book  on  soils:  “That  plants  cannot  thrive 
in  a  soil  destitute  of  nitrogen,  potash,  lime,  magnesia  and  phos- 


17 


phorous  acid.  A  soil  entirely  lacking  in  any  one  of  these  is, 
for  that  reason,  an  infertile  one.” 

While  there  are  about  ten  essential  elements  for  plant 
growth,  there  are  only  three  or  four  elements  of  which  the 
farmer  or  gardenere  can  exhaust  his  soil,  and  these  are  nitro¬ 
gen,  phosphorus,  potash  and  sometimes  lime. 

Nature  seemingly  has  provided  an  inexhaustible  supply  of 
all  the  elements  of  plant  food  with  the  exception  of  the  above 
mentioned.  When  any  of  these  elements  are  deficient  in  the 
soil,  man  must  supply  it  with  them,  by  manuring  with  green, 
stable,  or  commercial  manures. 

Experiment  No.  7. 

Object. — To  show  the  effect  of  plant  elements  in  the  soil  on 
the  growth  of  crops. 

Material. — Eight  tomato  cans,  sand,  lime,  phosphoric  acid, 
nitrate  of  soda,  potash  and  some  stable  manure. 

Procedure. — Fill  eight  tomato  cans  with  clear  sand.  In  the 
first  two  pots  mix  thoroughly  about  three  tablespoonfuls  of 
lime  plus  one  teaspoonful  of  phosphoric  acid.  In  the  third  mix 
three  teaspoonfuls  of  lime  and  one  spoonful  of  sodium  nitrate. 
In  the  fourth  can  use  only  the  pure  sand,  but  water  the  plants 
as  soon  as  they  germinate  with  water  that  has  been  percolated 
through  stable  manure.  In  the  fifth  mix  some  very  fine  manure 
with  the  sand.  In  the  sixth  mix  one  tablespoonful  of  lime,  one 
teaspoonful  of  phosphoric  acid,  half  teaspoonful  of  nitrate  of 
soda  and  two  teaspoonfuls  of  potash,  in  the  seventh  double 
the  amount  of  the  sixth.  In  the  eighth  can  put  in  the  pure 
sand  as  collected.  Plant  four  grains  of  corn  in  each  can.  Pe 
sure  to  give  the  same  care  to  all  the  cans.  Tabulate  the  results. 
What  have  you  observed  in  this  experiment? 

AIR:  A  SOURCE  OF  PLANT  FOOD 


Lesson  Plan  5. 

I.  Purpose  of  the  lesson. — To  show  that  plants  get  food  from 

the  air. 


18 


IT.  Analysis  of  the  Subject  Matter. 

(a)  Importance  of  air  to  the  plant. 

(b)  The  food  that  plants  get  from  the  air. 

(c)  The  green  matter  in  the  leaves  of  the  plants. 

III.  Method  of  Presentation, — Have  the  pupils  read  over  the 
lesson,  then  perform  the  experiments.  These  experi¬ 
ments  should  give  the  pupils  an  insight  into  the  use  of 
air  to  the  plants. 


Lesson  5. 

We  have  seen  already  that  a  great  deal  of  plant  food  comes 
from  the  soil,  yet  the  air  plays  a  very  important  part  in  furn¬ 
ishing  some  of  the  food  for  the  plants.  Plants  get  nitrogen, 
carbon  and  some  oxygen  from  the  air,  and  the  other  elements 
from  the  soil  and  water.  Take  a  growing  stalk  of  corn  about 
to  tassel;  it  contains  eighty  per  cent,  of  water  and  twenty  per 
cent,  of  dry  matter.  Of  this  twenty  per  cent.,  the  food  which 
is  obtained  from  the  soil  forms  one  per  cent.,  except  nitrogen, 
that  comes  from  the  soil  and  air,  which  is  two  per  cent.  The 
seventeen  per  cent,  unaccounted  for  is  obtained  from  the  air  in 
the  form  of  a  gas  called  carbon  dioxide.  All  the  green  plants 
have  the  power  to  decompose  this  gas,  use  the  carbon  and  allow 
the  oxygen  to  go  free.  Some  one  has  called  this  process  the 
fixation  of  carbon,  or  the  assimilation  of  carbon.  Most  of  the 
assimilation  of  carbon  takes  place  in  the  green  leaves  of  the 
plants,  yet  other  green  parts  of  the  plants  may  assimilate  some. 

The  great  power  of  plants  to  retain  the  carbon  depends  upon 
the  coloring  matter  of  the  leaves  known  as  chlorophyll.  The 
chlorophyll  grains  impart  the  color  to  the  leaves,  but  it  seems 
that  the  main  function  of  this  material  is  to  wrest  the  energy 
from  the  sun  and  use  it  in  making  the  carbon  dioxide  which 
enters  the  mouths  or  stomata  of  the  leaves  and  the  water  com¬ 
ing  up  through  the  plant  from  the  soil  the  leaf  cells  form  starch 
sugar  and  other  substances  of  which  plants  are  made,  home 
plants  do  not  have  this  power  to  get  carbon  dioxide  directly 
from  the  air;  such  plants  as  the  mushrooms  and  the  fungi 


19 


must  get  their  carbon  through  the  decaying  of  other  organic 
matter;  for  example,  decayed  stumps,  roots  and  leaves,  etc. 

Experiment  No.  8. 

Object. — To  show  that  plants  must  depend  upon  the  air  as 
well  as  the  soil  for  food. 

Material. — Two  tumblers,  some  clay-loam,  beans  or  peas  and 
some  water. 

Procedure. — Place  an  equal  amount  of  soil  in  each  of  the  two 
tumblers.  Fill  the  tumblers  to  one-half  inch  of  the  top.  In 
one,  plant  seeds  of  beans  or  peas  just  as  you  would  in  the  gar¬ 
den,  in  the  other  tumbler  plant  the  same  kind  of  seed.  Keep 
the  soil  in  one  tumbler  saturated  with  water,  in  the  other  just 
moist.  Watch  the  result.  Do  the  seed  in  both  tumblers  germ¬ 
inate?  The  tumbler  which  contains  an  excess  of  moisture  pre¬ 
vents  the  access  of  air  that  is  necessary  to  the  germination  of 
seed.  The  other  tumbler  which  is  kept  just  moist  will  allow 
sufficient  amount  of  air  to  come  in  contact  with  the  seed  to  in¬ 
sure  germination. 


Experiment  No.  9. 

Take  two  flower  plants;  keep  an  excess  of  water  around  one, 
and  have  the  soil  around  the  other  moderately  moist.  Tabulate 
the  result.  What  makes  the  difference  in  color  and  growth? 
Do  you  see  the  benefit  of  drainage? 

Experiment  No.  10. 

Object. — To  show  the  per  cent,  of  air  in  different  soils. 

Material. — Four  tomato  cans,  scales,  several  kinds  of  soils 
and  water. 

Procedure. — Fil  a  tomato  can  with  clay  and  weigh.  Gradual¬ 
ly  add  water  until  it  appears  at  the  surface.  How  much  water 
have  you  added?  Weigh  the  can  containing  the  soil.  Compare 
the  first  and  second  weights.  Do  the  same  with  several  kinds 
of  soil.  From  fhe  results  obtain  which  soil  has  the  greatest  air 
space? 


20 


THE  SUPPLY  OF  WATER  IN  THE  SOIL 
Lesson  Plan  6 

I.  I  uppose  of  tlie  Lesson. — -To  show  that  the  soil  contains 

water. 

II.  Analysis  of  the  Subject  Matter. 

(a)  Presence  of  water  in  the  soil. 

(b)  Kinds  of  water. 

(c)  Use  of  capillary  water  in  the  soil. 

(d)  Water  holding  capacity  of  the  soil. 

(e)  Percolation. 

HI-  Method  of  Presentation. — -The  method  of  teaching  this 
lesson  to  the  class  is  to  have  each  pupil  read  the  two 
paragraphs.  Explain  what  he  has  read.  After  this  has 
been  done,  the  above  facts  can  be  explained  through 
experiments.  Each  member  in  the  class  should  perform 
the  experiments,  and  class  demonstrations  should  be 
conducted  by  the  teacher. 

Lesson  6. 

Natural  soils  contain  three  classes  of  water;  free,  capillary 
and  hygroscopic  water.  The  water  which  makes  wells  and  any 
stream  is  known  as  free  water.  Such  water  will  not  be  found 
near  the  surface  of  well  drained  plots  of  land  except  after  a 
heavy  rain.  There  is  a  natural  level  for  free  water  in  every 
soil.  This  is  determined  by  the  depth  one  would  have  to  dig 
in  order  to  find  a  good  well  of  water. 

The  capillary  water  is  that  film  of  moisture  that  surrounds 
every  individual  particle  of  soil,  and  it  is  upon  this  water  that 
all  growing  plants  must  depend.  The  finer  the  soil  particles, 
the  greater  the  power  of  that  soil  to  hold  water.  The  experi¬ 
ments  below  will  demonstrate  the  water  holding  capacity  of 
the  soils  and  the  rate  of  the  movement  of  the  water  in  the  soils. 

Hygroscopic  water  is  the  film  of  moisture  around  each  par¬ 
ticle  of  soil  independently  of  the  capillary  water.  It  is  held 
more  firmly  to  the  particles  of  soil  than  the  capillary  water. 
Road  dust  mav  still  contain  from  one  to  ten  per  cent,  of  hygro- 


21 


scopic  water.  This  moisture  can  only  be  driven  oil  by  heating 
to  a  temperature  of  boiling  water.  The  clay  soils  usually  con¬ 
tain  a  great  deal  of  hygroscopic  moisture. 


Experiment  No.  1 1 . 

Object. — To  show  the  water  holding  capacity  of  soils. 

Material. — Five  lamp  chimneys,  scales,  a  rack  and  some 
cheese  cloth. 

Procedure. — Tie  a  thin  cloth  cap  over  the  small  ends  of  the 
chimney.  Weigh  each  chimney  separately.  Pecord  the  result. 
Now  till  each  chimney  up  to  the  bulge,  or  to  a  uniform  height 
with  soils  of  different  characters.  In  this  experiment  be  sure 
to  use  the  following  soils,  a  sandy  soil,  a  mixture  of  sand  and 
clay,  a  clay,  a  sandy  loam,  and  a  soil  made  up  of  leaf  mold. 
When  each  chimney  has  been  filled  with  the  different  soils, 
weigh  them  as  before.  Make  a  record  of  each  weighing.  Place 
the  chimneys  in  a  rack  and  pour  water  in  the  upper  end  until 
the  soil  is  thoroughly  saturated.  Cover  the  tops  of  the  chim¬ 
neys  and  allow  the  surplus  to  drain  off.  Weigh  the  chimneys 
containing  the  soil  after  five  hours,  and  by  substruction  find 
the  amount  of  water  retained  by  each  soil.  From  this  experi¬ 
ment  find  out  how  much  water  would  1000  pounds  of  each  soil 
hold.  Keep  up  the  weighing  of  these  soils  for  several  days; 
tabulate  your  results.  Which  soil  holds  the  most  water  the 
longest?  Explain  why.  Can  you  explain  why  crops  will 
“burn”  quickly  during  dry  weather  when  planted  on  sandy 
ground  ? 


Experiment  No.  12 


Object. — To  show  how  water  rises  in  the  soils  by  capillarity. 

Material. — Lamp  wick,  five  lamp  chimneys,  several  kinds  of 
soils,  vessel  to  hold  water,  some  cheese  cloth  and  some  water. 

Procedure. — Place  the  end  of  a  lamp  wick  in  some  water. 
Note  what  happens.  Touch  a  piece  of  blotting  paper  in  ink  or 
water.  What  happens  to  it?  Take  five  lamp  chimneys,  tie  a 
piece  of  cheese  cloth  over  the  small  ends  and  fill  each  chimney 
with  different  kinds  of  soils.  Place  each  chimney,  cloth  end 
downward,  in  a  pan  containing  an  inch  of  water.  Note  the 


22 


time  and  distance  the  water  will  rise  in  each  chimnev  through 
the  soils.  Tabulate  result  at  end  of  one  hour,  one  day,  two 
days,  and  even  a  week. 

This  rise  of  water  is  the  most  important  function  of  soil  in 
relation  to  farm  crops.  This  is  the  way  the  water  laden  with 
plant  food  comes  in  contact  wtih  the  roots.  This  rise  of  water 
through  the  soil  is  called  capillarity.  If  the  chimneys  with  the 
soil  are  weighed  before  and  at  intervals  up  to  the  time  the  soils 
have  absorbed  all  the  water  they  can  take  up,  the  difference  in 
weights  is  the  amount  of  water  absorbed  and  will  give  an  index 
to  the  water  holding  capacity  of  each  soil.  After  performing 
the  experiments,  which  soil  would  you  prefer  in  times  of 
drought?  Give  reasons  for  your  answer. 

Experiment  No.  J3. 

Object. — To  show  that  water  percolates  or  goes  downward  in 
the  soil. 

Material. — Same  as  in  last  experiment. 

Procedure. — Tie  pieces  of  cloth  over  the  ends  of  six  lamp 
chimneys  and  fill  each  with  a  different  kind  of  soil.  Pour  water 
into  all  the  chimneys  and  note  how  long  it  takes  for  the  water 
to  pass  through  each  soil.  Note  the  amount  of  water  that  re¬ 
mains  in  the  soil  with  that  which  passes  through  in  each  one. 

SOIL  MANAGEMENT 
Lesson  Plan  7. 

I.  Purpose  of  the  Lesson.  To  teach  the  pupils  the  proper 
management  of  the  soil. 

II.  Analysis  of  the  Subject  Matter. 

(a)  The  object  of  tillage. 

(b)  The  benefits  of  tillage. 

(c)  Deep  and  shallow  tillage. 

(d)  Tools  used. 

III.  Method  of  Presentation.  In  order  to  get  the  pupils  inter¬ 

ested  in  this  lesson,  let  the  teacher  tell  how  the  Indians 

tilled  their  crops  with  the  crooked  stick.  Let  them  know 

that  all  the  Indians  did  was  to  scratch  the  soil  and  plant 


23 


the  seed.  Study  the  evolution  of  the  plow.  Read  the 
story  of  Jethro  Tull,  an  Englishman,  who  said  that 
“Tillage  is  manure.” 

The  teacher  along  with  the  pupils  should  visit  some  good 
farms  and  learn  the  names  of  all  the  tools  used  in  tillage.  Dis¬ 
cuss  with  the  pupils  the  tools  that  are  used  for  shallow  as  well 
as  those  for  deep  tillage. 


Lesson  7. 

The  primary  object  of  tilling  the  soil  is  to  make  a  seed  bed  in 
order  that  the  seed  may  germinate  and  develop  quickly  into  a 
plant.  Nature  scatters  the  seeds  broadcast  and  they  grow 
when  they  fall  in  favorable  soil,  but  man  must  prepare  a  seed 
bed  for  them  if  he  expects  to  reap  an  abundant  harvest. 

The  second  object  of  tillage  is  to  make  the  soil  particles  small¬ 
er.  Soils  that  have  not  been  cultivated  for  some  time  become 
hard  and  packed,  and  therefore  unproductive.  Soils  of  like 
nature  must  first  be  plowed  with  a  turning  plow  and  then 
further  be  made  finer  by  using  harrows  and  a  roller.  The  soil 
cannot  be  made  too  fine  for  the  seeds  and  young  plants,  all 
things  being  equal,  the  finer  the  soil  the  better  and  quicker  the 
growth. 

The  first  benefit  we  get  from  tillage  is:  In  the  operation 
weeds  are  destroyed,  for  weeds  are,  as  a  rule,  expensive  board¬ 
ers;  they  pay  poor  rent,  are  hardy  drinkers  and,  therefore,  rob 
the  soil  of  its  moisture  and  food.  However,  weeds,  as  bad  as 
they  are,  sometimes  prove  a  blessing  rather  than  a  curse,  be¬ 
cause  they  make  the  lazy  farmer  or  gardener  work  his  soil  often 
in  order  to  kill  them,  and  by  so  doing  he  will  unconsciously 
work  his  crops. 

The  second  benefit  of  tillage  is  that  the  moisture  that  is  so 
essential  for  the  plant  is  saved.  The  soil  particles  are  made 
smaller,  thus  making  the  moisture  holding  capacity  greater. 
There  is  a  field  at  the  Agricultural  and  Technical  Oolleae 
Greensboro,  N.  where  the  soil  from  ten  to  eighteen  inches 
deep  will  be  found  to  contain  about  17  per  cent,  of  water  in  the 
summer  time,  while  another  part  of  it  at  the  same  time  will 
not  have  more  than  11  per  cent,  or  12  per  cent,  of  water.  What 


makes  the  difference?  The  answer  is,  the  first  part  of  the  field 
has  been  tilled  properly,  while  the  other  part  has  not,  one  part 
has  been  sub-soiled,  the  other  part  has  not. 

Tillage  prevents  evaporation  by  breaking  up  the  capillary 
tubes  which  allow  the  water  to  escape;  or  in  other  words,  till¬ 
age  forms  a  blanket  of  loose  soil  and  this  prevents  the  sun  from 
causing  the  evaporation  of  the  underlying  moisture  from  the 
soil.  Tillage  prevents  much  erosion  or  washing.  The  water 
will  sink  into  the  soil  rather  than  run  off  and  carry  the  plant 
food.  It  loosens  the  soil ;  it  dries  the  soil ;  it  exposes  the  soil 
to  atmospheric  action;  it  increases  the  amount  of  available 
plant  food ;  and  it  covers  the  seed. 

When  we  plow  the  land  with  the  turning  plow,  this  opera¬ 
tion  would  be  known  as  deep  tillage.  Can  you  name  other 
ways  of  deep  tillage?  Can  you  name  some  advantages  of  deep 
tillage?  Does  it  bring  the  undersoil  to  the  surface  and  permits 
greater  depth  for  the  roots?  Is  it  an  advantage  for  the  farmer 
to  lay  by  his  corn  with  deep  tillage  implements?  The  deep 
tillage  implements  will  cut  off  the  roots  of  growing  plants.  In 
view  of  this  fact  when  should  such  implements  be  used?  Cul¬ 
tivators,  harrows,  rakes,  and  hoes  are  made  to  form  dust 
mulches  and  therefore  will  not  disturb  the  roots  of  plants. 
These  tools  will  help  to  conserve  the  moisture  and  should  be 
used  when  the  plants  get  large.  Now  discuss  the  difference  be¬ 
tween  deep  and  shallow  tillage.  Tell  the  advantage  and  disad¬ 
vantage  of  the  two  kinds  of  tillage. 

WHY  SOIL  BECOME  UNPRODUCTIVE 
Lesson  Plan  8. 

I.  Purpose  of  the  Lesson.  To  show  the  pupils  why  so  much 

land  in  the  South  is  unproductive;  second,  to  teach 

them  how  to  reclaim  the  soil  fertility. 

II.  Analysis  of  the  Subject  Matter. 

(a)  Why  soils  are  unproductive. 

(b)  Prevention  of  the  washing  of  soils. 

(c)  Some  methods  of  keeping  the  soil  fertile. 


25 


III.  Method  of  Presentation.  Make  field  excursions.  Call  the 
pupils  attention  to  various  fields  which  have  been  culti¬ 
vated  properly  and  compare  them  with  improperly  culti¬ 
vated  ones.  Are  there  any  difference  in  the  crops?  Com¬ 
pare  the  houses  and  stock.  What  makes  the  difference? 

Lesson  8. 

Many  of  our  soils,  especially  those  in  the  Sou  till  riaadre  un¬ 
productive.  Much  of  this  has  been  brought  about  by  the  one 
crop  system,  or  in  other  words  growing  the  same  crop  on  the 
same  plot  of  land  year  after  year.  This  is  harmful  to  the  soil 
even  if  there  is  put  back  on  it  the  same  amount  of  plant  food 
that  the  plants  have  used  up,  because  certain  kinds  of  insects 
or  diseases  will  become  prevalent  and  will  therefore  prove  det¬ 
rimental  in  the  couse  of  time.  The  boll  weevil  in  the  cotton 
states  and  the  chinch  bug  and  the  corn  worm  in  the  corn 
growing  states  are  good  examples  of  the  above  statements. 

The  fertility  of  the  soil  is  also  wasted  by  erosion ;  such  as, 
washing  of  the  soil  by  heavy  rains.  The  winds  in  many  locali¬ 
ties  blow  much  of  the  top  soil  away.  Some  method  of  keeping 
the  soil  fertile:  This  can  be  done  by  rolling  the  land  after  it 
has  been  harrowed.  To  keep  soils  from  washing  and  deterior¬ 
ating,  deep  stirring,  especially  in  the  clay  soils  is  necessary. 
This  breaks  up  the  hard  pan,  and  will  allow  the  water  to  soak 
down  in  the  soil  instead  of  running  off.  Deep  stirring  gives 
greater  root  basin  and  at  the  same  time  exposes  more  soil  to 
the  air  and  to  the  frost.  Oxidation  makes  the  soil  more  fertile 
by  making  unavailable  plant  food  available.  The  action  of 
frost  on  the  soil  further  pulverizes  it,  and  makes  it  more  plia¬ 
ble.  To  prevent  erosion.  Plants  must  be  grown  which  have 
matted  roots,  these  tend  to  hold  the  soil  together.  Sow  such 
soils  down  in  grass,  clover  and  small  grains  for  several  years, 
then  other  crops  like  corn,  cotton  and  tobacco  may  be  planted 
for  a  year  or  two,  after  which  introduce  matted  roots  again.  In 
very  hilly  localities  curved  furrows  and  terracing  will  help  to 
prevent  washing  away  of  the  fertile  soil.  Rotation  of  crops 
will  also  prevent  washing.  Plow  under  green  manure,  add 
stable  manure,  lime  much  of  the  land  and  drain  the  soil.  These 
will  help  much  in  keeping  up  the  soil  fertility. 


26 


ACID  OR  SOUR  SOILS 


Lesson  Plan  9. 

T.  Purpose  of  the  Lesson — To  show  the  pupils  how  to  detect 
acid  soils. 

II.  Analysis  of  Subject  Matter: 

(a)  Presence  of  acid  in  the  soil. 

(b)  Testing  several  soils  with  blue  litmus  paper. 

(c)  Testing  acid  soils  with  garden  plants. 

(d)  Correcting  acid  soils  by  liming. 

III.  Method  of  Presentation — The  best  method  in  teaching  this 
lesson  is  through  experiments.  The  test  for  soil  acidity  is 

best  made  in  the  field. 

Lesson  9. 

As  a  rule  wherever  a  great  deal  of  vegetable  matter  has  de¬ 
cayed,  carbonic  acid  is  formed.  An  acid  soil  can  always  be 
detected  by  testing  with  very  sensitive  blue  litmus  paper  which 
may  be  obtained  from  any  good  drug  store  for  a  few  pennies. 

Experiment  11. 

To  test  the  soil  with  blue  litmus  paper,  puddle  a  cup  full  of 
it  with  some  rain  water  and  place  a  small  strip  of  the  paper  in 
it.  If  the  soil  is  sour  the  paper  will  turn  red  when  coming  in 
contact  with  the  wet  soil. 

In  your  garden  if  beets  fail  to  grow  well,  it  is  a  good  indica¬ 
tion  that  lime  is  deficient  in  the  soil.  Fields  will  not  grow  good 
legume  crops  unless  lime  is  present.  Corn  and  rye  may  do  fair- 
lv  well  on  acid  soils.  Sour  soils  can  be  made  sweet  if  an  ap- 

« j 

plication  of  water  slacked  lime  in  quantities  of  one  to  four 
thousand  pounds  per  acre,  be  spread  broad  cast  in  the  later 
fall  or  early  spring. 

MANURES:  GREEN,  BARNYARD  AND  COMMERCIAL 

Lesson  Plan  10. 

I.  Purpose  of  the  Lesson — To  teach  how  the  soils  may  be 
made  fertile. 


27 


II.  Analysis  of  the  Subject  Matter: 

(a)  Crops  used  in  green  manuring. 

(b)  Special  use  of  leguminous  crops. 

(c)  Value  of  the  several  natural  manures. 

(d)  The  care  of  barnyard  manures. 

(e)  Compost. 

(f)  Value  of  rich  feed  to  animals. 

(g)  Commercial  fertilizer. 

III.  Method  of  Presentation — Read  over  the  lesson  carefully, 

then  call  the  pupils’  attention  to  each  of  the  topics. 
Teach  the  class  to  be  observant.  Tell  the  class  that  large 
crops  can  be  grown  without  the  use  of  commercial  fer¬ 
tilizers.  This  is  brought  about  by  using  large  quantities 
of  good  stable  or  barnyard  manure.  Manure  is  rich  in 
plant  food,  especially  in  nitrogen  and  potash. 

The  pupils  should  be  taught  that  stock  farming  is  more  bene¬ 
ficial  than  grain-farming.  Why  is  this  so?  It  is  estimated 
that  that  if  animals  are  kept  in  covered  stalls,  fed  good  feed, 
and  a  liberal  supply  of  bedding  and  manure  saved,  horses  and 
mules  will  return  twentv-seven  dollars  each  to  the  soil  yearly; 
cattle,  twenty  dollars;  hogs,  eight  dollars,  and  sheep,  about  two 
dollars. 


Lesson  10. 


In  green  manuring  the  farmer  or  gardener  plants  such  crops 
as  oats,  rye,  clover  and  peas  and  plows  them  under  to  rot.  The 
leguminous  crops  are  especially  valued  for  the  nitrogen  that 
they  will  collect  from  the  air  and  add  it  to  the  soil.  Under  this 
head  will  be  found  the  clovers,  alfalfa,  velvet  beans,  vetches  and 
the  cow  peas  which  are  the  most  common.  It  is  somewhat 
strange  that  these  plants  have  the  power  to  collect  nitrogen 
from  the  air  and  transfer  it  to  the  soil,  yet  it  is  true.  Other 
plants  can  feed  upon  the  manufactured  nitrogen  after  it  has 
bp f mi  deposited  in  the  soil.  Every  farmer  and  gardener  knows 
that  he  can  produce  a  better  crop  of  corn,  wheat,  cabbage  or 
‘Woes  "fter  any  of  the  above-named  crops  have  been  grown 
rive"  plot  of  land.  Why  is  this?  Dig  up  carefully  a  bunch 
fter  it  has  matured.  Wash  the  roots.  What  do  you 


28 


see  on  the  roots?  The  answer  is,  little  knots,  looking  like 
warts.  These  are  little  fertilizer  factories  which  have  the  j:ow 
er  to  collect  the  nitrogen  from  the  air.  When  the  host  plant 
dies  or  has  been  plowed  under  the  nitrogen  which  has  been 
gathered  and  manufactured  by  these  little  factories  is  left  in 
the  soil  and  other  plants  will  feed  on  it.  Nitrogen  is  worth 
fifteen  cents  (15c.)  or  more  per  pound  for  plant  food.  Would 
it  be  advantageous  to  the  farmer  or  gardener  to  grow  legum¬ 
inous  plants?  Why?  The  legume  factories  have  plenty  of 
nitrogen  to  gather  and  manufacture.  The  air  will  not  become 
exhausted.  It  is  said  that  37,500  tons  of  nitrogen  rest  over 
every  acre  of  the  farmer’s  land. 

e/ 

Barnyard  Manure. 


The  barnyard  manures  are  the  most  important  of  all  ma¬ 
nures,  because  of  their  available  plant  food. 

In  the  Farmer’s  Bulletin  192,  United  States  Department  of 
Agriculture,  is  given  the  value  of  the  real  plant  food  which  is 
contained  in  a  ton  of  several  natural  manures : 


Horse  manure . $2.20 

Cow  manure  .  2.02 

Sheep  manure  .  3.30 

Calf  manure  .  3.18 

Hog  manure  .  3.29 

Hen  manure . 7.07 


The  farmer  is  constantly  selling  crops  off  his  farm,  therefore 
selling  the  fertilizer  which  the  crops  have  gathered  up  from 
the  soil.  Some  estimates  have  been  given  of  the  amount  of  fer¬ 
tilizer  which  a  ton  of  timothy  hay  contains.  It  will  take  about 
$5.25  to  replace  the  fertilizer  which  a  ton  of  timothy  hay  will 
remove  from  an  acre  of  soil.  It  has  also  been  estimated  that 
every  ton  of  wheat  will  remove  from  an  acre  of  land  about 
$7.92  worth  of  plant  food.  Therefore  one  can  see  how  the 
farmer  constantly  is  selling  plant  food  off  his  soil,  and  thereby 
making  it  poorer  and  poorer  every  year.  This  can  be  remedied 
in  a  great  measure  by  keeping  sufficient  number  of  useful  ani¬ 
mals  on  the  farm  to  consume  the  roughage  and  theielo  letum 


the  manure  and  waste  material  back  to  the  soil  as  a  feitilizei, 


29 


The  average  farmer  and  gardener  lose  a  great  deal  of  their 
manure  by  piling  it  up  against  barns  or  allowing  it  to  lie  out 
in  the  barnyard  for  a  great  length  of  time.  It  is  almost  impos¬ 
sible  to  save  the  manure  by  storing  it  in  the  ordinary  way.  It 
is  far  better  to  apply  it  to  the  soil  as  soon  as  made,  then  what 

is  washed  out  will  enter  the  soil. 

The  stable  of  all  animals  should  be  kept  well  bedded  so  that 


a  great  deal  of  manure  can  be  made.  Every  time  the  stable  is 
cleaned  out,  haul  the  manure  to  the  field  and  spread  it  where 
it  is  needed,  and  plow  it  under  as  soon  as  possible.  Manure 
may  be  kept  fairly  well  by  keeping  it  rounded  up  in  a  close 
pile.  Put  a  good  cover  over  it,  and  now  and  then  cool  the  ma¬ 
nure  down  by  pouring  water  over  it.  Under  such  a  manure  pile 
a  spoon  shape  cement  bottom  should  be  made  to  keep  the  liquid 


manure  from  being  wasted. 

Compost  piles  consist  of  manure  and  other  materials  mixed, 
such  as  leaves,  pine  straw,  cotton  seed  hulls  with  some  phos¬ 
phate  added.  Compost  is  valuable  like  the  barnyard  manures. 
These  several  manures  have  four  good  offects  on  land :  First, 
they  make  the  earth  loose  and  mellow,  thus  allowing  the  air 
and  the  roots  to  come  in  close  contact  with  the  soil.  Second, 
the  soil  will  hold  moisture  better  in  dry  weather  when  these 
manures  have  rotted  well  in  the  soil.  Third,  they  furnish 
abundance  of  plant  food  to  the  roots  of  the  growing  plants. 
Fourth,  they  add  many  beneficial  germs  to  the  soil  and  cause 
those  already  there  to  thrive  better.  The  richest  feeds  make 
the  richest  manure.  Cowpea,  hay,  clover,  cotton  seed  meal  and 
other  feeds  that  are  rich  in  nitrogen  make  the  best  manure, 
therefore  it  is  advantageous  to  the  farmer  to  feed  these  nitro¬ 
genous  crops  to  the  animals  and  save  the  manure  for  fertilizing. 
It  has  been  estimated  that  in  the  case  of  feeding  cotton  seed 
meal  to  the  animal,  not  more  than  one-fifth  of  the  fertilizing 
material  is  used  for  the  body  consumption,  the  remainder  of  it 
will  be  found  in  the  manure.  So  one  can  see  from  this  that  it 
is  far  better  to  feed  the  animals  rich  feed  and  use  the  manure 
for  fertilizing  than  to  use  any  of  them  as  a  direct  fertilizer. 


The  Commercial  Fertilizers. 

Most  of  the  southern  farmers  and  gardeners  use  too  much  of 


the  commercial  fertilizers  without  stopping  to  think  of  the 
value  of  the  constituents  contained  in  them.  These  manures 
of  course  are  soil  enrichers  and  if  handled  judiciously  in  most 
cases  are  helpful.  Before  it  is  safe  to  use  a  commercial  fertil¬ 
izer  the  farmer  or  gardener  should  have  a  good  supply  of 
humus,  as  all  the  manures  must  be  reduced  to  a  liquid  state 
before  the  plants  can  use  them.  When  a  soil  contains  a  good 
supply  of  humus,  as  a  rule  there  will  be  a  good  supply  of  capil¬ 
lary  water,  or  it  is  capable  of  holding  a  sufficient  amount.  If 
there  is  a  lack  of  moisture  when  these  fertilizers  are  used,  the 
crops  will  surely  burn  and  prove  worthless. 

Most  of  the  fertilizers  are  sold  in  bags  with  a  guaranteed 
analysis.  These  analyses  are  in  many  cases  misleading  and 
confusing  to  the  purchasers.  The  only  constituents  in  mixed 
fertilizer  the  buyer  should  look  for  are  these :  viz.,  nitrogen  or 
ammonia,  available  phosphoric  acid  and  potash.  The  laws  of 
the  different  states  guarantee  the  amounts  of  the  constituents 
or  plant  elements  in  each  bag  of  fertilizer,  yet  the  laws  do  not 
prevent  the  use  of  other  statements  or  names  on  the  same  bag. 


As  for  example : 

Guaranteed  Analysis  :  Per  cent. 

Nitrogen  .  8  to  1 

Equivalent  to  ammonia . 1  to  2 

Available  phosphoric  acid . 8  to  12 

Equivalent  or  available  bone  phosphate . 18  to  20 

Total  phosphoric  acid . 0  to  12 

Equivalent  bone  phosphate . 9  to  20-30 

Potash  actual . 2.5  to  3.5 

Equivalent  to  potash . 3  to  n 


The  above  fertilizer  was  sold  in  a  state  where  ammonia  is 
guaranteed  instead  of  nitrogen.  The  dealers  of  the  fertilizer 
are  held  responsible  only  for  the  lowest  per  cent  stated  in  the 
guaranteed  analysis  on  the  outside  of  the  bags.  In  the  abo\e 
analysis  the  actual  per  cent  of  each  constituent  is:  ammonia, 
one  per  cent.;  available  phosphoric  acid,  eight  per  cent.;  potash, 

two  per  cent. 

The  trade  value  of  the  constituents  in  any  fertilizer  may  be 
very  nearly  found  by  multiplying  the  per  cent  of  ammonia  by 


31 


2.5,  add  the  product  to  the  percentage  of  phosphoric  acid  plus 
the  potash.  This  result  will  he  approximately  the  value  of  the 
fertilizer  in  dollars  and  cents :  Example — Take  the  fertilizer 
that  has  a  guaranteed  analysis :  ammonia,  one  per  cent. ;  phos¬ 
phoric  acid,  eight  per  cent.;  potash,  two  per  cent.  From  the 
rule  given  multiply  the  per  cent,  of  ammonia  by  2.5  which 
equals  2.5.  Add  to  this  2.5  eight  plus  two  the  per  cent,  of  phos¬ 
phoric  and  potash  12.50.  Therefore  this  fertilizer  is  worth 
$12.50.  Where  nitrogen  is  used  instead  of  ammonia,  multiply 
by  three  instead  of  two  and  five-tenths  and  that  will  give  one 
the  approximate  trade  value. 

In  cases  where  one  is  contemplating  buying  fertilizer  the 
price  should  not  exceed  five  dollars  more  than  the  trade  values. 
This  is  allowed  for  bagging,  handling  and  transportation.  By 
this  I  mean,  add  five  dollars  to  the  commercial  value  and  this 
should  determine  the  selling  price. 

Problems :  What  is  the  value  of  a  ton  of  complete  fertilizer 
which  has  a  guaranteed  analysis,  two  per  cent,  of  nitrogen,  ten 
per  cent,  of  phosphoric  acid  and  three  per  cent,  of  potash?  By 
the  above  method  examine  different  fertilizer  bags  and  deter¬ 
mine  the  trade  value  of  the  fertilizer. 

A  word  of  caution  for  the  farmer,  and  that  is  this,  never  mix 
the  two  fertilizers  lime  and  phosphate,  because  the  lime  pro¬ 
duces  a  chemical  change  and  the  phosphate  is  rendered  less 
soluble  and  therefore  it  is  less  valuable  as  a  fertilizer.  When 
wood  ashes  and  the  phosphate  are  mixed,  the  same  result  is 
obtained  as  above;  therefore,  they  should  not  be  mixed  tog*  ther. 


ROTATION  OF  CROPS 
Lesson  Plan  11. 

I.  Purpose  of  the  Lesson — To  show  what  a  rotation  is,  and 

how  to  plan  a  beneficial  rotation. 

II.  Analysis  of  the  Subject  Matter: 

(a)  What  is  a  rotation? 

(b)  How  to  plan  a  rotation. 

(c)  A  beneficial  rotation. 

(d)  Two,  three,  four  and  five  year  rotation. 


32 


(e)  Conditions  affecting  a  rotation. 

(f)  Rotation  to  get  rid  of  obnoxious  weeds. 

(g)  A  rotation  to  reduce  or  control  plant  diseases. 
HI.  Method  of  Presentation — The  lesson  should  be  read  over 

by  the  pupils,  and  each  topic  taken  up  and  discussed 
separately.  Have  the  pupils  bring  in  the  kind  of  rota¬ 
tion  practiced  in  their  respective  communities.  Com¬ 
pare  the  rotation  brought  in  by  the  pupils  with  the  one 
given  in  the  lesson. 

Lesson  11. 

As  we  have  already  learned,  one  kind  of  crop  continually 
grown  on  one  plot  of  land  for  a  number  of  years  will  tend  to 
be  harmful  to  the  soil.  Crop  rotation  then  is  one  of  the  funda¬ 
mental  necessities  of  any  kind  of  successful  farming,  whether 
it  be  general,  special  or  truck  farming.  The  average  farmer  is 
successful  in  proportion  to  the  extent  to  which  he  practices  a 
good  rotation.  The  one  crop  system  in  the  South  has  proven  a 
failure  in  most  cases,  as  one  can  see  when  going  through  our 
country.  Our  soils  that  were  once  fertile  are  now  depleted. 
What  caused  them  to  be  so  poor?  The  only  answer  need  to  be 
given  at  this  time  is  that  our  land  has  been  in  the  hands  of 
men  who  did  not  know  the  benefits  of  rotation. 

What  Is  a  Rotation? 

A  good  definition  would  be,  as  some  one  has  said,  “A  system 
of  farming  by  which  the  most  can  be  gotten  from  the  soil  and 
at  the  same  time  the  most  left  in  it.”  In  other  words,  it  must 
be  a  system  of  farming  where  the  most  crops  can  be  grown  that 
will  bring  monev  to  the  farmer  and  at  the  same  time  increase 
the  fertility  of  the  soil.  Merely  growing  one  crop  after  another 
crop  may  not  be  a  successful  rotation.  But  if  crops  are  grown 
in  succession  on  the  same  field  and  are  so  arranged  the  land 
improvement  crop  will  be  followed  by  a  money  crop,  or  if  the 
improvement  crop  can  be  turned  into  a  money  crop,  then  we 
have  a  beneficial  rotation  for  the  Southern  farmer. 

How  to  Plan  a  Rotation. 

There  are  several  items  that  should  be  considered  w  hen  plan- 

33 


ning  a  rotation,  namely,  the  money  crop,  the  land  improvement 
crop,  the  crop  that  keeps  the  land  free  of  obnoxious  weeds  and 
the  crop  that  controls  plant  diseases.  Some  of  the  money  crops 
for  North  Carolina  are  cotton,  corn  and  tobacco.  Cotton  in  cer¬ 
tain  sections  of  our  State  and  corn  in  other  sections  have  been 
fhe  crops  that  have  been  grown  so  long  that  the  soils  are  deple¬ 
ted  of  their  fertility,  and  we  need  1o  plan  a  rotation  which  will 
increase  and  maintain  the  soil’s  fertility.  In  planning  any 
rotation  the  money  crop  of  the  community  must  be  supplement¬ 
ed  with  the  soil  improvement  crop  best  adapted  to  the  same 
locality. 

Below  is  a  rotation  that  would  be  beneficial  to  the  Southern 
farmer : 

Two  Years’  Rotation:  Corn  Belt — First  year,  corn  and  cow 
peas;  second  year,  wheat,  followed  by  peas.  Cotton  Belt — First 
year,  cotton,  followed  by  crimson  clover;  second  year,  corn, 
foil  wed  bv  clover. 

Three  Years’  Rotation :  Corn  Belt — first  year,  corn  and 
peas;  second  year,  oats  and  crimson  clover;  third  year,  wheat, 
followed  by  clover.  Cotton  Belt — First  year,  cotton,  followed 
by  clover;  second  year,  oats  and  vetch;  third  year,  cotton,  fol¬ 
lowed  by  clover. 

Four  Years’  Rotation :  Corn  Belt — First  year,  corn  and 
peas;  second  year,  oats  and  clover;  third  year,  corn  and  peas; 
fourth  year,  wheat,  followed  by  clover.  Cotton  Belt — First 
year,  cotton,  followed  by  clover;  second  year,  oats  and  clover; 
third  year,  corn  and  peas;  fourth  year,  rye,  followed  by  cotton. 

Five  Years’  Rotation  :  Corn  Belt — First  year,  corn  and  cow- 
peas;  second  year,  wheat,  followed  by  late  corn;  third  year, 
crimson  clover,  corn;  fourth  year,  rye,  followed  by  corn;  fifth 
year,  wheat,  followed  by  clover.  Cotton  Belt — First  year,  cot¬ 
ton,  followed  by  clover;  second  year,  corn  and  cowpeas;  third 
year,  oats  and  clover;  fourth  year,  cotton,  followed  by  rye ;  fifth 
year,  corn,  followed  by  clover. 

In  these  rotations  one  can  see  that  the  legumes  play  an  im¬ 
portant  part.  The  best  soil  improvers  for  the  Southland  are 
such  crops  as  the  cowpeas,  velvet  pea,  the  clovers  and  the 
vetches.  Hairy  vetch  when  planted  with  small  grain  will  help 


34 


protect  the  land  during  time  and  may  be  cut  off  in  time 
to  grow  a  crop  of  corn. 

Conditions  Affecting  Rotation. 

In  planning  a  rotation,  the  farmer  must  always  keep  in  mind 
what  he  has  on  the  farm  and  what  he  needs,  the  number  of  farm 
hands  engaged  in  the  operation  of  the  work,  the  capacity  of 
the  teams,  the  needs  of  the  farm  in  the  way  of  feed,  the  crops 
to  be  planted,  the  implements  at  hand,  and  the  money  invested 
to  run  the  farm.  Much  attention  must  be  paid  to  the  farm  in 
regards  to  its  fertility.  Where  the  farm  has  poor  spots  as  well 
as  fertile  ones,  a  great  effort  will  have  to  be  made  to  have  all 
the  farm  produce  about  the  same  quality  and  quantity  on  every 
acre.  In  many  cases  it  will  be  necessary  to  divide  the  farm  up 
into  several  plots  or  fields  to  get  the  best  results.  Of  course 
common  sense  must  be  exercised  in  all  operations  on  any  farm, 
whether  large  or  small.  Inasmuch  as  the  purpose  of  a  rotation 
is  to  get  as  much  out  of  the  land  as  possible,  and  at  the  same 
time  to  improve  the  soil  rapidly,  no  place  on  the  farm  should 
be  neglected.  Hence  any  rotation  will  be  a  success  in  propor¬ 
tion  to  the  extent  the  land  is  improved. 

Rotation  to  Get  Rid  of  Noxious  Weeds. 

Many  times  it  is  necessary  to  rotate  to  get  rid  of  some  special 
kind  of  weeds.  This  can  be  accomplished  in  two  ways:  First, 
plant  a  crop  that  will  require  a  long  season  to  mature,  corn  and 
cotton  are  good  examples.  Secondly,  plant  a  vigorous  legume 
crop — peas  and  soja  beans  are  excellent  in  choking  out  almost 
any  weed,  if  planted  early  in  the  season.  A  great  advantage 
always  in  growing  cow  peas  is  that  they  can  be  grown  very 
successfully  after  a  winter  crop,  like  wheat,  oats  or  rye. 

Rotation  to  Reduce  or  Cntrol  Plant  Diseases. 

Fungous  diseases  usually  attack  only  particular  kinds  of 
crops.  Where  the  same  crop  is  grown  on  the  same  plot  of  land 
year  after  year,  the  spores  of  the  fungi  lodging  in  the  giound 
during  the  fallow  season  will  find  food  ready  when  the  season 


35 


comes  for  them  to  multiply.  If  disease  sets  in  in  any  crop,  it 
is  well  worth  while  to  try  to  get  rid  of  the  pest  by  rotation. 

Lesson  Plan  12. 

I.  Purpose  of  the  Lesson — To  teach  the  children  how  new 

varieties  of  plants  are  produced.  Secondly,  to  give  the 
pupils  an  idea  how  to  grade  and  judge  corn. 

II.  Analysis  of  the  Subject  Matter: 

(a)  The  methods  of  securing  new  varieties. 

(b)  What  is  the  pollen? 

(c)  The  meaning  of  cross,  self,  and  near-fertiliziation. 

(d)  The  length  of  ears  of  corn  in  various  sections  of 
the  United  States. 

(e)  The  per  cent,  of  corn  on  the  cob. 

III.  Method  of  Presentation — Take  the  pupils  to  the  field  and 

show  them  the  corn  when  in  bloom.  Let  the  pupils  ob¬ 
serve  the  pollen  dust.  Teach  them  what  this  dust  is  for. 
Late  in  the  fall  gather  some  ears  of  corn  and  show  the 
children  why  the  corn  is  “mixecl”;  that  is,  you  will  find 
some  kernels  that  will  be  of  different  color  from  the 
other  kernels. 

Have  the  pupils  bring  ears  of  corn  to  school,  count  the  rows 
on  each  ear,  and  the  number  of  kernels  on  one  row ;  from  this 
have  them  estimate  the  number  of  kernels  on  each  ear.  Many 
problems  may  be  worked  out  by  the  teacher  and  pupils. 

Lesson  12. 


It  is  very  important  to  know  how  new  varieties  of  plants  are 
formed.  There  are  three  distinct  methods  in  which  this  is  ac¬ 


complished,  viz:  by  cross  fertilization,  self  fertilization  and 
close  fertilization.  If  we  take  corn  for  an  example,  an  explana¬ 
tion  can  be  made  of  how  each  fertilization  is  brought  about. 
Now  let  us  go  out  into  a  field  of  corn  when  it  is  silking  and 
tassel ing.  All  of  us  have  noticed  a  yellow  material  that  comes 
from  corn  when  it  is  in  bloom.  This  material  falls  on  the  silk 


of  the  corn  and  in  turn  it  goes  down  the  silk  and  fertilizes  each 
grain.  When  the  pollen  of  a  plant  enters  the  ovary  of  the 


36 


plant  not  related  to  it  in  any  way,  this  is  called  cross  fertiliza¬ 
tion.  When  the  pollen  of  a  plant  enters  the  ovary  of  the  same 
plant,  this  is  known  as  self  fertilization,  and  the  result  is 
almost  invariably  an  inferior  offspring.  The  third  fertilization 
is  where  a  plant  fertilizes  the  ovules  of  the  related  plant  of  the 


same  variety,  this  is  called  near  or  close  fertilization.  From 
these  three  sources  named  above  all  of  the  varieties  are  formed. 

All  of  our  public  schools  can  have  some  corn  grading  and 
judging  a  few  minutes  every  day,  until  the  pupils  are  acquaint¬ 
ed  with  the  different  parts  of  the  corn.  Study  the  olants  <nven 
below  briefly  and  see  if  you  cannot  interest  your  children  a 
little  each  day. 

1.  The  length  of  the  ear  of  corn  in  the  Southern  section  of 
the  United  States  is  from  .9  to  10  inches,  Northern  and  Central 
States  have  standard  for  lengths  of  corn  one-half  inch  shorter. 

2.  The  kernels  should  be  uniform  in  size,  shape  and  be  of 
the  same  color.  Thev  must  be  sound  and  well  matured,  free 
from  worm  holes  or  insect’s  injuries  in  any  way.  The  tip  of 
the  kernel  should  be  well  developed. 

3.  The  rows  of  the  knernels  should  be  straight  and  continuous 
from  the  tip  of  the  ear  to  the  butt. 

4.  The  cob. — White  corn  should  have  a  white  cob,  yellow  corn 
should  have  a  red  cob. 

5.  Per  cent  of  corn  to  cob :  Corn  85  to  87  per  cent,  cob  from  15 
to  13  per  cent.  Butts  should  be  well  proportioned;  kernels  uni¬ 
form  in  size  and  well  arranged  in  a  cup  shade  cavity. 

6.  Tips  should  be  well  covered  with  kernels  of  a  uniform  size. 


The  Southern  Corn  Belt 


From  the  United  States  Year  Book  we  get  the  following  data  : 


Bushels 

Texas  . 

. 181,280.000 

Mississippi  . 

.  66,256,000 

tlonro'ifi  . 

.  65,714,000 

Alabama  . 

.  63,432,000 

Louisiana  .  ' . 

.  58,832,000 

North  Carolina  . 

.  57.139,000 

.  54,621,000 

37 


South  Carolina .  44,733,000 

Florida .  8,814,000 

If  you  search  the  year  book  you  will  find  that  the  greatest 
yield  of  corn  is  in  the  Northwestern  states.  These  states  con- 
tain  the  best  kind  of  soil  for  corn  growth ;  that  is,  the  alluvial 
or  glacial  soil,  which  is  easily  made  friable.  The  Southern 
states  can  be  made  great  corn  growing  states  also,  if  the  right 
kind  of  farming  is  carried  on.  The  worn  out  soils  of  the  South 
must  be  made  fertile  by  green  manuring,  barnyard  manuring, 
crop  rotation  and  the  right  kind  of  tillage. 

Experiment  14. 

To  show  that  the  root  of  a  plant  needs  air.  Take  several 
root  cuttings  of  Wandering  Jew  or  some  similar  plant  that  can 
be  rooted  in  water.  Place  one  or  two  cuttings  in  ordinary 
spring  or  well  water  that  has  been  boiled  and  put  a  few  other 
cuttings  of  the  same  kind  of  water  that  has  not  been  boiled. 
To  keep  the  boiled  water  from  absorbing  air,  cover  the  top  of 
it  with  oil. 

To  SIioav  That  the  Leaves  Do  Not  Take  Moisture  to  Any  Appreciable 

Extent. 


Experiment  15. 

Take  a  few  leaves  of  some  plant,  let  them  be  the  same  size 
as  near  as  possible,  place  about  half  of  the  leaf  under  water. 
Let  the  tips  be  downward.  Now  take  a  second  lot  of  leaves  of 
the  same  plant  and  of  the  same  size,  put  them  in  water  and 
place  the  stems  downward.  Which  set  of  leaves  will  wilt  the 
quicker?  Why  is  this?  What  lesson  do  you  get  from  this  ex¬ 
periment?  Let  the  teacher  right  here  draw  out  from  the  chil¬ 
dren  why  flowers  and  other  green  plants  are  put  in  water  stems 
downward. 


SEED  TESTING 
Lesson  Plan  13. 

I  Purpose  of  the  Lesson — To  teach  the  pupils  how  to  test 
the  various  kinds  of  seeds. 


38 


II.  Analysis  of  the  Subject  Matter: 

(a)  The  selection  of  seeds. 

(b)  Mixing  and  separation  of  various  seeds. 

(c)  Determination  of  the  number  as  well  as  the  time 
required  for  germination  of  the  various  seeds  used 
in  the  garden  and  field. 

(d)  The  percentage  of  live  seed. 

III.  Method  of  Presentation — Have  the  children  bring  to 

school  various  seeds  which  they  plant  at  home.  Select 
several  kinds  of  the  seeds  brought  to  school,  such  as 
corn,  beans,  peas,  watermelon,  beets,  tomatoes  and 
onions,  mix  all  these  seeds  together;  allow  the  children 
to  separate  them  according  to  the  variety.  When  the 
separation  has  been  completed,  give  the  samples  of  seeds 
their  true  names.  Put  them  in  vials;  label,  for  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  future  identification.  Keep  all  the  common  seeds 
before  the  pupils  until  they  are  familiar  with  all  the 
seeds  planted  in  the  community.  When  this  is  done,  be¬ 
gin  to  compare  the  different  seed  of  the  same  family, 
such  as  cabbage,  kale  and  collard  seed. 

Lesson  13. 

For  most  seeds  six  days  are  required  for  the  test ;  for  beets, 
cotton,  cowpeas,  onions,  tomatoes  and  melons  two  days  longer 
should  be  allowed;  for  spinach  and  salsify,  ten  days;  for  car¬ 
rots,  celery  and  tobacco  fourteen  days;  while  for  blue  grass  and 
parsley,  twenty-eight  days. 

Experiment. 

Object — To  show  the  pupils  how  small  seeds  may  be  tested 
with  simple  devices. 

Material — Seed,  water,  blotting  paper  or  canton  flannel  and 
two  plates. 

Procedure — Fount  out  one  hundred  seed  of  the  soi  1  to  be 
tested  and  place  them  between  two  pieces  of  moist  blotting  pa¬ 
per  or  folds  of  canton  flannel.  Put  the  blotting  paper  contain¬ 
ing  the  seeds  in  a  plate  and  turn  another  plate  over  it  to  keep 
in  the  moisture.  Watch  the  seeds  and  observe  the  condition  of 


39 


them  every  twenty-four  hours.  When  the  germination  is  com¬ 
plete  take  an  account  of  all  seeds  put  on  the  blotting  paper, 
and  determine  the  percentage  of  those  that  would  produce 
healthy  plants. 

Experiment. 

Object — To  show  the  pupils  how  to  test  corn. 

Material — Corn,  testing  box,  sawdust  and  water. 

Procedure — First,  make  a  testing  or  germinating  box.  Such 
a  box  can  be  constructed  by  any  one  in  an  hour.  For  testing 
fifty  ears,  a  box  should  be  about  three  inches  deep,  twenty-four 
inches  wide,  and  thirty  inches  long.  The  ears  that  are  to  be 
tested  should  be  put  on  a  shelf  or  table  and  all  weak  ones 
thrown  out  before  beginning  the  test.  Now  fill  the  box  half 
full  of  sawdust  that  has  been  soaked  in  warm  water  for  an 
hour.  Remove  the  excess  of  water  from  the  sawdust  before 
putting  it  in  the  box.  When  the  sawdust  has  been  put  in  the 
box  pack  it  down  level  and  firm  witli  a  brick,  leaving  the  sur¬ 
face  smooth  and  even.  Above  this  layer  of  sawdust  should  be 
placed  a  piece  of  white  cloth  preferably  sheeting,  which  has 
been  ruled  into  oblong  spaces  two  and  half  inches  by  four 
inches.  A  margin  of  two  and  half  inches  should  be  left  along 
the  oblong  spaces.  The  spaces  must  be  marked  from  one  to  fifty 
to  correspond  with  the  fifty  ears  of  corn  to  be  tested. 

Remove  six  kernels  from  six  different  places  on  ear  number 
one  and  place  them  on  space  number  one  of  the  germination 
box.  In  moving  kernels  take  two  from  the  butt  on  opposite 
side  of  the  ear,  two  from  middle,  and  two  from  the  tip,  turning 
the  ear  enough  so  as  not  to  take  two  kernels  out  of  the  same 
row.  Do  the  same  thing  with  all  the  ears  that  are  to  be  tested. 
Lay  the  kernels  in  the  spaces  with  tips  all  one  way,  and  germ 
side  up,  this  is  very  essential.  As  soon  as  the  kernels  are  all 
carefully  arranged,  the  germination  test  is  ready  for  the  cover 
cloth.  Dip  the  cover  cloth  in  warm  water  and  wring  it  out 
before  using.  The  cover  cloth  should  be  several  inches  larger 
than  the  box.  It  is  advantageous  to  raise  the  edge  of  the  box 
toward  which  the  crowns  of  the  kernels  are  pointed.  To  do 
this  will  help  materially  in  the  test.  After  laying  the  cover 


40 


cloth  on  the  kernels  of  corn,  fill  the  box  with  warm  wret  saw¬ 
dust.  Pack  the  sawdust  down  on  the  cover  cloth  with  a  brick 
as  was  done  with  the  first  cloth.  It  generally  takes  about  eight 
days  for  the  corn  to  germinate.  Place  the  test  box  in  some 
place  where  the  seeds  will  keep  warm.  After  eight  days  care¬ 
fully  roll  off  the  top  cloth  together  with  the  top  sawdust.  Those 
kernels  showing  weak  sprouts  or  none  at  all  should  be  dis¬ 
carded.  It  is  easy  to  tell  which  ears  are  good  to  plant  and 
those  that  are  unfit  to  use.  From  the  poor  ears  tell  how  many 
missing  hills  would  be  in  a  field  using  one  grain  to  the  hill,  if 
fifteen  hundred  kernels  were  on  the  ear.  What  per  cent,  of  the 
field  would  have  good  stalks,  providing  the  birds  and  worms 
did  not  injury  any  of  them? 

Lesson  Plan  14. 

I.  Purpose  of  the  Lesson — To  teach  the  children  how  to 

make  gardens  and  choose  the  various  seeds  for  them. 

II.  Analysis  of  the  Subject  Matter: 

(a)  The  making  of  a  garden. 

(b)  Selection  of  various  plants  for  a  vegetable  garden. 

(c)  The  time  to  plant  various  garden  crops. 

(d)  The  manner  of  working  the  various  garden  crops. 

III.  Method  of  Presentation.  Lee  each  pupil  select  a  garden, 

work  it  up  in  the  fall  so  early  planting  may  be  carried 
on.  During  the  winter  the  pupils  may  be  taught  the 
name  of  seeds  and  plants,  and  the  methods  of  planting 
and  cultivating. 

A  Typical  Garden. 


Lesson  14. 

There  are  at  least  three  things  necessary  in  a  successful  gai- 
den:  namely,  suitable  soil,  pure  seed,  clean  cultivation.  To 
these  mav  be  added,  as  equally  necessary,  a  good  supply  of 
barnyard  manure ;  and,  when  this  runs  short,  supplementing  it 
by  an  application  of  some  good  artificial  fertilizer. 

Fertilizer. 

Experience  teaches  us  that  there  are  no  crops  that  draw  on 


41 


the  soil  more  than  vegetables,  as  we  sometimes  take  two  or 
more  crops  olf  of  the  same  land  in  one  season.  It  is  therefore 
necessary  that  a  good  supply  of  manure  must  be  used.  The 
best  manure  to  use  for  the  garden  is  well  rotted  barnyard 
manure. 

When  stable  manure  is  used,  about  50  tons  to  the  acre  is  con¬ 
sidered  the  best  amount.  In  using  barnyard  manure,  spread  it 
over  the  ground,  plow  it  under  and  work  it  in  the  soil  with 
finer  tools  afterwards,  or  better  still,  disc  harrow  the  ground, 
spreading  the  manure,  then  plow  the  land. 


Rotation  of  Crops. 

Rotation  in  the  garden  crops  is  very  essential;  and  in  order 
to  be  successful,  it  must  be  carried  out  even  more  so  than  in 
farming.  Rotation  in  garden  is  a  very  easy  matter,  but  a  very 
important  one  indeed.  Different  vegetables,  like  farm  crops, 
draw  different  elements  from  the  soil.  It  is  necessary  where 
such  deep-rooted  kinds  as  beets,  turnips,  carrots,  parsnips  have 
grown  the  previous  season,  that  they  should  be  followed  with 
more  shallow  rooted  plants,  such  as  lettuce,  onions,  beans,  caul¬ 
iflower  and  cabbage. 

Corn  may  be  alternated  with  melons,  squash,  pumpkins  and 
cucumbers.  Do  not  plant  the  cabbage  tribe  on  the  same  land 
too  often. 


Selection  of  Varieties  of  Plants  for  a  Vegetable  Garden. 


Asparagus:  Conover’s  Colossal,  Palmetto. 

Reams:  (Early)  Improved  Valentine  and  Extra  Early  Refu¬ 
gee;  Red  Valentine,  Giant  Stringless  Green  Pod  and  Refugee, 
or  1000  to  1. 

Lima  Beans:  (Early)  Fordhook  Rush  Lima,  Mammoth, 
(late)  Prolific. 

Beets:  (Early)  Eclipse  and  Crosby’s  Imp.  Egyptian  Beet, 
(late)  Improved  Long  Red. 

Cabbage:  (Early)  Jersey  Wakefield  and  Charleston  Wake¬ 
field,  (late)  All-Season,  Flat  Dutch  and  Drum  Head. 

Cauliflower:  (Early)  Snowball,  (late)  Large  Algiers. 

Carrots:  (Early)  Scarlet  Horn,  (late)  Half  Long  Denvers, 


42 


Celery:  (Early)  New  Rose  and  Golden  Heart,  (late)  Winter 
Queen  and  Giant  Pascal. 

Collards:  Southern  Short  Stem  and  Georgia. 


Corn:  (Early)  Adam’s  Extra  Early  and  Truckers’  Early 
Sugar  Corn,  (late)  Country  Gentleman  and  Late  Mammoth. 

Cucumbers:  Early  White  Spine,  Early  Green  Prolific  and 
Improved  Long  Green. 

Egg-Plant :  Black  Beauty  and  New  York  Purple. 

Kale :  Norfolk  and  Extra  Curled  New  American  Kale. 

Lettuce:  Big  Boston,  May  King  and  Improved  Hanson. 

Musk  Melon  or  Cantaloupe:  Rocky  Ford,  Anne  Arundel  and 
Extra  Early  Hackensack. 

Okra:  Perkin’s  Mammoth  and  Dwarf  Green  Prolific. 

Onions:  Large  Red  Wethersfield,  Silver  King  and  Yellow 
Globe  Denvers. 

Parsley:  Moss  Curled  and  Double  Curled. 

Parsnip:  Hollow  Crown  and  Guernsey. 

Teas:  (Early)  Gradus,  Nott’s  Excelsior  and  Eureka;  (late) 
Everbearing  and  Improved  Stratagem. 

Pepper:  Bull  Nose,  Sweet  Spanish  and  Long  Cayenne. 

Potatoes :  Early  Ohio,  Red  Bliss  and  Irish  Cobbler. 

Pumpkins:  King  of  the  Mammoth  and  Large  Cheese. 

Radish:  (Early)  Scarlet  Globe  and  White  Box,  (general) 
White  Strasburg  and  Chartier. 

Spinach:  Bloomdale  and  Victoria. 

Squash:  (Early)  Wilite  Bush,  Mammoth  Yellow  Summer 
Crookneck  and  Golden  Custard;  (late)  Boston  Marrow  and 
Hubbard. 

Sweet  Potato  :  Nancy  Hall,  Jersey  Sweets  and  N.  C.  Yam. 

Tomatoes:  (Early)  Spark’s  Earliana,  June  Pink;  (late) 
Acme,  Ponderosa,  Crimson  Cushion  and  Stone. 

Turnips:  Purple  Top  Globe,  Snow  Ball  and  large  White 
Norfolk. 

Water  Melons:  Tom  Watson,  Lord  Baltimore,  Duke  Jones, 
Florida  Favorite  and  Kolb  Gem. 


Succession  of  Garden  Plants. 

Asparagus. — Although  the  sowing  of  seed  is  the  most  eco¬ 
nomical  method  of  growing  asparagus,  it  is  somewhat  uncer- 


44 


tain  and  generally  requires  three  years  to  get  marketable 
shoots.  Most  gardeners  buy  roots  instead  of  seed.  Plant  as 
early  in  the  spring  as  the  ground  can  be  worked.  Have  ground 
thoroughly  enriched;  plant  the  roots  out  two  feet  apart  each 
and  six  inches  deep;  cover  about  one  inch  deep;  then  gradually 
work  in  the  soil  until  the  furrows  are  full  or  level  with  the 
surface.  Such  a  bed  may  last  from  ten  to  fifteen  years. 

Beans. — Select  light  warm  soil  and  plant  when  the  danger 
of  frost  is  past  in  the  spring.  Sow  in  drills  two  to  two  and 
one-half  feet  apart,  dropping  the  beans  about  two  inches  in  the 
row  and  and  cover  two  inches  deep.  Plant  every  ten  days  until 
eight  week  before  frost,  which  is  about  the  middle  of  August. 

Lima  Beans. — Plant  about  the  first  of  May  in  hills  12  to  15 
inches  apart  in  the  row.  The  rows  should  be  wide  enough  to 
use  a  cultivator  in  working  them,  about  three  feet. 

Beets. — Sow  oue  inch  deep,  as  early  as  the  ground  can  be 
worked,  in  drills  four  inches  apart;  then  every  three  weeks  un¬ 
til  the  middle  of  July.  The  long  kind  will  take  more  time  to 
mature. 


Cabbage. — Plant  as  early  as  the  ground  can  be  worked.  The 
early  varieties  may  be  planted  in  rows  two  feet  apart  each  way. 
The  late  sorts  may  be  planted  as  late  as  the  first  of  August. 
Let  them  be  planted  about  three  feet  apart  in  the  row.  Hoe 
cabbage  frequently.  Be  sure  to  draw  the  earth  up  to  the  stalk. 

Cauliflower. — Plant  out  early  in  the  spring  after  frost,  later 
varieties  may  be  planted  out  about  the  middle  of  July.  Cauli¬ 
flower  should  be  worked  the  same  as  cabbage. 

Carrots. — Carrots  should  be  sown  in  light  fertile  soil,  which 


has  been  heavily  manured  for  a  previous  crop,  as  fresh  manure 
will  encourage  side  roots  and  irregularity  of  shape.  Sow  drills 
one  inch  deep  and  two  feet  apart,  leaving  about  three  inches  be¬ 
tween  the  plants.  The  short  varieties  may  be  sown  as  early  as 
the  ground  can  be  worked  in  the  spring.  For  late  crop  sow  in 
July  and  August. 

Celery. — -Plant  seed  in  hotbed  or  very  early  in  the  spring  in 
the  open  ground.  Transplant  four  inches  apart  when  three 
inches  high  in  fertile  soil,  finely  pulverized;  water  and  protect 
until  well  rooted.  In  June  or  July  transplant  into  permanent 


45 


rows  three  feet  apart,  either  on  the  surface  or  weli-manured 
trenches  a  foot  in  depth.  Half  fill  the  trenches  with  well-rotted 
manure.  Set  the  plants  from  six  to  eight  inches  apart  in  the 
row.  When  the  plants  are  well  set  and  making  rapid  growth, 
era  dually  draw  the  soil  around  them  as  they  grow.  In  October 
and  November  they  can  have  their  final  banking.  This  should 
make  the  desired  blanching. 

Collards. — Col  lards  belong  to  the  cabbage  family,  very  close¬ 
ly  related  and  for  this  reason  they  must  be  treated  about  the 
same  way  as  cabbage.  Sow  the  seed  in  beds  from  March  until 
July,  to  be  transplanted  in  the  garden  when  large  enough.  The 
soil  for  collards  should  be  fertile  as  they  are  gross  feeders. 
Three  feet  each  must  be  given  the  plants,  as  they  foliage  is  very 
abundant. 


Corn. — Early  corn  may  be  planted  in  rows  three  feet  apart, 
and  the  seed  placed  about  eight  inches  apart  in  the  rows,  or 
planted  in  hills  three  feet  apart  each  way.  Do  not  let  more 
than  three  plants  remain  in  each  hill.  Corn  can  be  planted 
from  April  until  the  last  of  July  for  succession  of  crop.  By 
planting  every  two  weeks  a  family  may  have  good  corn  through¬ 
out  the  season. 


Cucumbers. — For  very  early  cucumbers  sow  the  first  of  Aprii 
in  a  hotbed  upon  pieces  of  sod  (grass  side  down),  so  that  they 
can  be  readily  transplanted  to  the  open  ground  in  rich  soil 
when  danger  of  frost  is  over.  Plant  after  the  ground  has  be- 
o'Cme  warm  in  hills  four  feet  apart  for  the  smaller  varieties  and 
five  feet  for  the  larger  sorts.  For  pickling,  sow  from  the  mid¬ 
dle  of  June  to  last  of  July.  Plant  six  seeds  to  the  hill,  one  inch 
deep.  Thin  out  to  three  or  four  plants  to  the  hill  when  the 
third  leaves  come  on  the  plants  well. 

Egg-plant. — To  have  early  egg-plants  sow  in  hot  bed  the  first 
of  March.  When  three  inches  high,  pot  the  plants  and  place 
them  in  the  same  bed  so  that  they  will  become  stocky.  Trans¬ 
plant  them  from  the  pots  to  the  field  when  the  ground  is  thor¬ 
oughly  warm.  Let  the  plants  stand  in  hills  two  and  half  feet 
each  way.  Keep  the  soil  loose  and  clean  about  the  plants; 
gradually  draw  the  soil  up  to  the  stems. 

Kale. — Plain  kale  may  be  sown  nearly  the  year  round,  either 


46 


in  drills  or  broadcast.  Sow  half  an  inch  deep  In  rows  two  and 
a  half  feet  apart,  allowing  about  six  inches  between  the  plants. 
Cultivate  the  same  as  cabbage.  Kale  is  a  strong  feeder,  there¬ 
fore  it  needs  a  fertile  soil  to  thrive  well. 


Lettuce. — -Sow  seed  as  early  as  the  ground  is  ready,  and  a 
little  more  every  fifteen  days  until  June  15th.  Transplant  in 
drills,  or  between  other  crops,  eight  inches  apart,  six  inches  in 
the  row.  Keep  the  soil  clean  and  loose  about  the  plants. 

Musk  Melons,  or  Cantaloupe. — Plant  in  hills  in  April,  four 
feet  apart  each  way.  Make  the  hills  fertile  with  well  rotted 
manure.  Sow  about  ten  seeds  to  the  hill,  one  inch  deep.  When 
they  are  three  leaves  high,  thin  out  to  three  plants.  The  vines 
may  be  pinched  off  when  about  a  foot  long  to  make  them  branch, 
and  ripen  the  fruit  earlier. 


Okra. — Sow  early  in  May.  Sow  in  drills  two  feet  apart  for 
the  low  varieties  and  four  feet  for  the  tall  varieties.  Sow  from 
May  until  July,  thinning  the  tall  sort  one  plant  for  every  three 
feet,  and  one  plant  every  two  and  half  feet  for  the  short  varie¬ 
ties. 

Onions. — Plant  out  the  sets  early  in  the  spring  in  rows  three 
feet  apart  and  then  place  in  the  soil  two  inches  deep.  Plant 
the  sets  four  inches  apart  in  the  row.  Make  the  soil  rich  if  a 
good  crop  is  desired. 

Parslev. — Select  rich  soil ;  sow  the  seed  in  drills  one  foot 
apart,  covering  half  an  inch  deep.  It  will  be  well  to  make  the 
soil  firm  with  the  foot  after  sowing  the  seed.  It  takes  the 
plants  about  three  weeks  to  germinate,  therefore  sowing  should 
be  done  early.  Thin  plants  to  four  inches  in  the  row. 

Parsnips. — Sow  in  drills  early  i  nthe  spring  one  foot  apart 
and  half-inch  deep;  thin  in  the  row  to  four  inches.  Parsnips 
will  be  nourished  best  and  give  the  longest  roots  in  deep  rich 


soil. 


Peas. — Sow  as  early  as  the  ground  can  be  worked.  The 
dwarf  should  be  manured  well,  but  the  tall  varieties  will  go  to 
vines  if  fertilized  too  heavily.  Fall  varieties  of  peas  may  be 


sown  about  the  latter  part  of  August  in  fertile  soil. 


Peppers. — Sow  in  drills 
about  the  first  of  May.  Let 


as  soon  as  the  ground  is  warm, 
the  rows  be  two  feet  apart  and  set 


4T 


the  plants  eighteen  inches  in  the  row.  A  fertile  soil  is  essential. 

Potatoes. — Plant  the  cut  pieces  of  potatoes  in  furrows  early 
as  the  soil  can  be  worked.  Let  the  furrows  be  six  inches  deep 
and  drop  the  pieces  a  foot  apart  in  the  row.  Use  good  pieces 
with  at  least  two  eyes.  A  sandy  loam  soil  is  the  best  potato 

land. 

Pumpkins. — Plant  in  drill  eight  feet  apart  each  way.  Manure 
the  hills  with  some  well  rotted  manure.  Plant  six  seed  to  the 
hill.  When  plants  get  four  leaves,  thin  to  two  in  a  hill.  Never 


plant  pumpkin  seed  until  the  soil  gets  warm. 

Radish. — For  an  early  supply  sow  in  hotbed  in  February. 
For  a  successive  supply  sow  from  the  middle  of  March  to  Sep¬ 
tember.  You  can  sow  between  crops  in  drills  nine  or  ten  inches 
apart.  Thin  out  to  two  inches  in  the  row.  Radishes  thrive  best 
in  light,  rich,  sandy  loam.  Radishes  must  make  a  rapid  growth 
to  be  fit  for  use;  they  will  be  crisp  and  tender  and  of  a  mild 
flavor  if  forced. 

Spinach.— Sow  in  April,  in  drills  one  foot  apart  and  one  inch 
deep.  Sow  every  fifteen  days  until  the  middle  of  July.  Sow  in 
September  for  fall  and  winter  use.  For  spinach  to  stand  the 
winter  cover  with  a  thin  layer  of  straw.  This  crop  must  also 
have  a  fertile  soil  to  do  well. 


Tomatoes. — For  early  fruit  sow  the  seed  in  February  and 
March,  in  hotbed.  When  the  plants  are  about  four  inches  high 
they  should  be  set  out  four  or  five  inches  apart  in  cold  frames, 
and  exposed  to  air  as  much  as  possible  to  harden  them  off. 
When  the  soil  is  thoroughly  warm,  transplant  to  the  garden. 

For  late  varieties  sow  in  beds  when  the  soil  gets  warm  and 

> 

plant  in  the  garden  in  May  and  June. 

Sweet  Potatoes. — Bed  the  potatoes  in  specially  prepared  beds 
about  the  middle  of  March.  When  the  “-slips”  are  about  four 
inches  high  thev  are  ready  to  be  set  out  into  the  garden.  Do 
not  set  them  until  after  the  danger  of  frost.  Set  on  beds  made 
by  throwing  two  furrows  together  with  a  turning  plow.  Set 
the  plants  about  fifteen  inches  apart  on  the  bed. 

Squash. — -Squashes  are  all  quite  tender,  and  therefore  no 
progress  can  be  made  in  starting  them  until  the  weather  gets 
warm.  Plant  in  hills  four  feet  apart  each  way  for  the  bush 


48 


varieties.  For  the  running  varieties,  plant  about  six  feet  apart 
in  hills.  Allow  three  plants  to  remain  in  each  hill. 

Turnips. — For  early  varieties  sow  about  the  last  of  February 
in  drills  two  feet  apart,  and  thin  the  plants  to  four  inches  in 
the  rows.  For  fall  and  winter  use  sow  from  the  middle  of  June 
until  the  first  of  September.  Turnips  may  be  sown  in  drill  or 
broadcast.  The  soil  must  be  manured  well  to  get  large  turnips. 

Water  Melons. — A  rich,  but  light  soil  is  best  suited  for  water 
melons  to  get  the  desired  result.  Plant  the  seed  half  an  inch 
dee])  in  hills  from  six  to  eight  feet  apart  each  way.  Never 
plant  until  the  ground  is  thoroughly  warm.  After  the  first 
cultivation,  all  other  work  must  be  shallow  and  the  crop  “laid 
by”  as  soon  as  the  ground  is  well  covered. 


FIELD  AND  GARDEN  CROPS:  THEIR  CULTURE 


Lesson  Plan  15. 


I.  Purpose  of  the  Lesson :  To  teach  the  pupils  how  to  grow 

certain  crops. 

II.  Analysis  of  the  Subject  Matter: 

(a)  Field  crops. 

(b)  Corn;  its  culture. 

(c)  Wheat;  its  culture. 

(d)  Garden  crops. 

(e)  Beans;  their  culture. 

(f)  Potato;  its  culture. 

III.  Method  of  Presentation.  When  each  of  the  above  crops  is 

studied,  call  attention  to  the  crop  as  it  is  grown  in  the 
neighborhood.  Is  the  crop  in  question  a  success  or  a 
failure?  After  the  methods  of  several  farmers  have  been 
studied,  select  the  one  pursued  by  the  most  progressive 
farmers  in  growing  each  of  these  crops.  The  teachei 
should  study  books  and  bulletins  upon  field  and  garden 

crops. 

Lesson  15. 

Field  Crop — Corn  Culture. 

Corn  likes  a  rich  soil.  It  likes  a  soil  that  stays  moist,  but  it 


49 


(loos  not  like  one  that  is  watery  very  long  after  a  rain.  Sandy 
loam  soil  seems  to  he  the  best  one  for  corn,  especially  where  it 
has  been  enriched  with  barnyard  manure  or  commercial  fertil¬ 
izers  of  the  right  sort. 

The  land  should  be  broken  or  plowed  at  least  eight  inches 
deep,  and  then,  it  should  be  harrowed,  rolled,  until  all  clods 
are  thoroughly  pulverized,  it  is  now  ready  for  planting. 

Fertilizing. 

Where  stable  manure  can  be  had,  nothing  can  beat  it.  It 
should  be  spread  broadcast  before  plowing,  or  breaking  the 
land.  In  the  case  of  commercial  fertilizer,  half  of  it  may  be 
pot  in  the  furrow  made  by  the  corn  planter  and  the  other  half 
spread  on  the  land  after  the  corn  is  about  eight  or  ten  inches 
high.  When  clover  and  rye  are  used  as  a  manure  these  should 
be  turned  under  when  in  bloom. 

Planting 

The  grains  of  corn  may  be  planted  in  two  ways,  viz.,  drilling 
and  hilling.  Both  these  ways  have  their  advantages  and  dis¬ 
advantages.  Where  one  drills  his  corn,  one  grain  is  put  every 
eight  or  ten  inches  apart  in  a  row.  Advantage  of  planting 
.  corn  this  way  is  that  one  can  reap  more  fodder  to  the  acre  and 
sometimes  more  corn.  Disadvantage,  it  will  take  more  to  keep 
such  a  crop  clear  of  weeds  and  grass.  Where  four  or  five  grains 
are  put  in  hills  three  or  four  feet  apart  in  the  row  this  is  called 
hilling.  Hilling  is  generally  done  on  the  check  row  system. 
Advantage  is,  that  the  corn  can  be  cultivated  both  ways  and 
save  so  much  hoe  work;  disadvantage,  less  corn  and  fodder  to 
the  acre  can  be  harvested.  The  grains  of  corn  should  be  cov¬ 
ered  with  line  soil  from  one  to  two  inches  deep.  The  dirt  or 
soil  should  be  pressed  firmly  with  the  hoe,  or  in  the  case  where 
a  corn  planter  is  used,  the  wheel  will  pack  it  sufficiently. 

Cultivating  Corn. 

Corn  likes  a  clean,  mellow  soil,  as  well  as  a  fertile  one.  It  is 
a,  good  plan  to  harrow  corn  land  just  before  the  plants  come 
up.  The  first  harrowing  should  be  very  light  for  fear  of  digging 
up  the  plants.  The  line  surface  helps  to  keep  the  soil  moist 
below  the  fine  layer,  and  in  the  meantime  tends  to  keep  down 
many  of  the  weeds. 


50 


After  the  corn  is  large  enough  to  work,  it  is  a  good  plan  to 
cultivate  at  least  once  in  every  eight  days  during  the  growing- 
period.  In  hill  corn  two  to  three  stalks  are  enough  to  remain 
in  a  hill.  Of  course  this  will  depend  upon  the  fertility  of  the 
soil  whether  more  or  less  should  be  left  to  stand. 

Harvesting  Corn. 

The  corn  is  ready  to  cut  and  shock  when  the  husk  or  shuck 
on  the  ear  is  dead,  and  dry,  and  the  grains  are  hard  and  sliinv. 
This  will  occur  while  most  of  the  stalks  and  leaves  are  still 
green.  Put  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  hills  in  a  shock.  Tie  the 
shocks  firmly  and  leave  standing  in  the  field  for  about  five 
weeks.  Of  course  this  will  depend  upon  the  weather. 

Gathering  Seed  Corn. 

The  best  place  to  select  the  seed  corn  is  in  the  field.  The  se¬ 
lection  in  the  field  should  begin  during  the  growth  of  the  crop. 
Let  the  farmer  pass  through  the  fields  when  the  ears  are  well 
formed  on  stalks,  and  when  he  finds  a  large  well-formed  ear  on 
a  sturdy,  well -developed  stalk  mark  it  by  tying  a  piece  of  cloth 
around  the  stalk.  At  husking  time  the  ears  from  the  marked 
stalk  must  be  kept  separate  from  the  others,  and  from  these 
should  be  selected  for  the  next  year  the  ears  that  nearest  ap¬ 
proach  the  ideal. 

Wheat  Culture. 


It  has  been  found  by  experience  that  early  plowing  for  wheat 
is  better  than  late.  The  wheat  crop  seems  to  need  a  settled, 
plowed  field,  and  this  condition  is  secured  by  plowing  the  soil 
early.  Soon  after  the  ground  has  been  plowed  for  wheat,  it 
should  be  harowed  to  make  the  seed  bed  firm. 


Fertilizer  for  Wheat. 

Wheat,  like  the  other  cereals,  requires  much  plant  food,  and 
for  this  reason  it  is  necessary  to  apply  fertilizer  of  some  kind. 
Stable  manure  seems  to  be  the  best,  but  this  should  be  applied 
to  some  other  crop  just  preceding  the  wheat  crop,  in  a  rotation. 
Too  large  a  quantity  of  manure  is  likely  to  supply  too  much 
fertility  so  that  the  wheat  stalks  may  grow  so  fast  that  they 
will  fall  over  or  lodge  as  it  is  sometimes  called. 

Commercial  fertilizer  is  sometimes  used  for  a  wheat  crop, 
especially  when  the  land  has  been  farmed  for  a  long  time.  A 


51 


fertilizer  containing  four  per  cent,  of  nitrogen,  twelve  per  cent, 
of  phosphoric  acid  and  four  per  cent,  of  potash,  seems  to  be  the 
best  for  wheat.  Sow  from  250  to  400  pounds  per  acre. 

The  Time  of  Planting  Wheat. 

The  time  for  planting  wheat  will  vary  with  the  season;  for 
North  Carolina  from  the  first  of  October  to  Thanksgiving  day 
would  be  a  good  time  to  sow  wheat. 

Depth  of  Planting. 

The  depth  of  planting  wheat  will  greatly  depend  upon  the 
soil.  Where  the  soil  is  well  prepared  and  not  very  dry,  two 
inches  dep  is  about  the  right  depth.  The  quantity  of  seed  to 
plant  per  acre  will  vary  from  one  and  a  half  to  two  bushels. 
Early  planting  will  require  less  seed  than  late  planting. 

Care  of  Wheat  During  Growth. 

Caring  for  the  wheat  crop  after  seeding  is  an  important 
thing.  In  case  a  heavy  rain  occurs  soon  after  the  wheat  is 
planted,  it  is  likely  to  flatten  the  little  ridges  between  the  drill 
rows.  This  will  cause  the  silt  to  be  deposited  in  the  little  do 
pressions  between  the  rows  in  which  the  seed  have  been  planted. 
Of  course  this  is  where  a  grain  drill  has  been  used.  The  sun¬ 
shine  that  follows  a  rain  will  cause  the  silt  to  bake,  and  a  crust 
will  be  formed  over  the  seed,  thus  preventing  the  seed  from 
coming  above  the  ground.  Sometimes  it  will  be  necessary  for 
the  farmer  to  reseed  his  land,  or,  if  it  is  too  late,  another  crop 
may  be  planted. 

Time  of  Harvest. 

No  set  time  can  be  given  to  harvest  wheat  ;  it  should  be  cut 
when  ripe.  In  North  Carolina  almost  all  of  the  wheat  is  cut 
in  the  month  of  June,  just  when  the  straw  is  turning  yellow. 
The  conditions  for  cutting  wheat  is  favorable.  At  this  period 
the  grains  are  soft  enough  to  be  indented  with  the  finger  nail 
and  hard  enough  not  to  be  crushed  by  pressing  them  between 
the  fingers. 

Machines  for  Harvesting  Wheat. 

The  old  fashioned  cradle  is  used  in  many  districts  where 
small  crops  of  wheat  are  grown.  The  self  binding  harvester  is 
the  most  economical  machine  used  for  cutting  wheat  and  other 
grain  crops.  This  machine  cuts  the  grain  and  binds  it  in  bun- 


52 


dies,  and  deposits  them  in  piles  of  five  or  six  bundles.  After 
the  grain  is  cut  the  bundles  should  be  put  in  shocks,  containing 
ten  to  twelve  of  them. 

Threshing  Wheat. 

About  a  week  after  wheat  is  cut,  it  will  be  ready  for  thresh¬ 
ing.  In  North  Carolina  the  threshing  machines  are  operated 
either  by  horses  or  by  steam  or  gasoline  engines. 


DIRECTION S  FOR  THE  RAISING  OF  BEANS 

Kind  of  Soil. 


Several  kinds  of  soil  can  be  put  into  condition  so  they  will 
produce  a  good  bean  crop,  viz :  sandy  loam,  gravelly  loam  and 
clay  loam,  if  Avell  drained.  Beans  will  not  do  well  on  a  soil 
that  stays  wet  and  heavy.  Beans  need  a  rich  soil  to  yield  well. 
Barnyard  manure  well  mixed  with  the  surface  is  a  good  fer- 
tilizer,  and  it  helps  hold  the  moisture  near  the  surface.  Other 
fertilizers  should  contain  potash  and  phosphoric  acid  princi¬ 
pally. 

Preparing  the  Soil. 


The  ground  should  be  well  plowed  to  the  depth  of  eight  or 
ten  inches.  The  surface  should  be  made  very  fine  with  a  har¬ 
row  or  a  garden  rake.  This  will  allow  the  soil  to  pack  well 
around  the  bean  when  planted. 

Planting. 

Make  little  furrows  about  three  inches  deep.  Place  the  beans 
in  a  furrow  from  three  to  four  inches  apart.  Make  the  rows  a 
foot  and  a  half  apart.  Cover  the  beans  two  and  a  half  inches 
deep  wtih  very  fine  soil.  Pack  the  soil  somewhat,  for  this  gets 
the  fine  soil  close  around  the  seed,  and  also  helps  to  keep  the 
moisture  where  the  dry  bean  can  get  started  to  grow. 

Cultivating. 


Begin  to  use  the  garden  rake  to  keep  the  ground  fine,  as  soon 
as  the  little  beanlets  come  up.  The  soil  must  be  worked  very 
shallow  to  prevent  injury  to  the  plants.  Keep  the  ground  in 
cultivation  between  the  rows  until  the  green  snaps  are  about 
ready  to  pick.  Then  draw  some  fine  soil  around  the  stems.  Do 


53 


not  work  beans  when  they  are  wet  as  any  bruises  will  allow 
diseases  to  start. 

Fertilizing. 

Barnyard  manure  is  the  best  to  use  when  put  on  in  the  fall, 
then  harrow  well  before  planting.  If  commercial  fertilizer  is 
used,  it  should  contain  about  1.3  per  cent,  of  nitrogen,  8.7  pei; 
cent,  phosphoric  acid  and  12.5  per  cent,  potash. 

Beans  are,  as  a  rule,  free  from  disease,  therefore  I  shall  not 
discuss  it.  Sometimes  it  will  be  necessary  to  treat  the  vines 
with  dry  ashes  to  keep  the  little  green  bug  away  while  the 
plants  are  young. 


POTATO  CULTURE 


Preparation  of  Seed  Bed. 


First  of  all  select  a  deep  mellow  and  free  working  soil,  one 
that  is  not  stocky,  which  does  not  cling  to  your  shovel  or  hoe. 
Prepare  the  soil  as  early  in  the  spring  as  possible,  by  plowing 
it  to  a  depth  of  eight  or  more  inches.  Sub-soiling  in  many 
cases  will  prove  beneficial.  Potato  roots  like  the  soil  loosened 
very  deep. 

After  plowing,  make  the  surface  soil  as  fine  as  possible  by 
harrowing  and  raking.  Work  the  ground  over  until  there  are 
no  lumps  or  clods  left  in  it.  Harrow  the  ground  immediately 
after  plowing  or  not  later  than  a  day  after. 

On  the  day  of  planting  make  furrows  the  length  of  the  potato 
plot  3.5  feet  apart  and  about  six  inches  deep,  and  as  straight 
as  tli ev  can  lie  made. 


Application  of  Manure  and  Fertilizers. 

If  manure  is  used,  let  it  be  broadcast  over  the  land.  Well 
rotted  manure  is  better  than  fresh  from  the  stable,  but  both 
kinds  are  liable  to  increase  the  disease  called  “scab.”  This 
makes  the  tubers  rough,  warty  and  undesirable,  and  unsalable. 
Sometimes  it  is  better  to  depend  upon  commercial  fertilizer  for 
this  crop.  Spread  one-half  of  the  fertilizer  in  the  open  furrows 
thinly  and  evenly,  and  mix  with  soil  as  other  manures  are  used. 
Spread  the  other  half  when  the  plants  are  about  four  or  five 
inches  high. 


54 


Preparation  of  the  Seed  for  Planting. 


The  tubers  that  are  to  be  used  should  be  cut  several  days 
before  planting  time;  due  care  must  be  taken  to  keep  from  heat¬ 
ing  before  planting;  and  it  is  well  to  dust  a  little  land  plaster 
over  the  tubers  to  prevent  the  excessive  wilting. 

In  cutting  seed  potatoes  it  is  well  to  cut  two  eyes  to  the 
piece  as  this  will  insure  a  good  stand.  The  cutting  may  be 
done  with  a  pocket  knife. 

Treating  Potatoes  for  the  Scab. 

Treat  scabby  potatoes  by  soaking  them  in  a  mixture  made 
of  formalin  and  water.  Use  one  ounce  of  forty  per  cent,  form¬ 
alin  in  two  gallons  of  water.  Let  the  potatoes  soak  in  it  about 
two  hours.  Take  them  out  and  spread  them  out  to  dry.  This 
same  mixture  may  be  used  several  times.  The  formalin  may 
be  bought  at  the  drug  store  for  about  five  cents  an  ounce. 
Handle  formalin  carefully  because  it  is  a  poison. 

Planting. 

We  now  have  the  soil  prepared,  the  manure  spread,  the  fur¬ 
rows  opened,  and  the  seed  treated  for  scab,  and  potatoes  cut 
for  planting.  Drop  the  pieces  in  the  furrows  six  inches  deep, 
fifteen  inches  apart  in  the  furrows,  cover  the  seed  three  inches 
at  first  and  gradually  work  the  soil  to  the  vines  as  they  come 


up. 

Cultivating. 

After  the  crop  is  started  keep  the  surface  fine  by  frequent 
stirring.  Watch  the  crop  carefully  and  cultivate  often  to  keep 
down  the  weeds.  At  each  cultivation  a  little  earth  will  be 
pushed  down  into  the  partly  filled  trench.  By  the  time  the 
vines  are  four  inches  high  this  trench  will  be  filled.  AA  hen  the 
vines  are  five  inches  high,  the  remainder  of  the  fertilizer  should 
be  applied  on  both  sides  of  the  row.  Do  not  let  the  fertilizer 
touch  the  plants.  Stir  the  soil  immediately  after  the  applica¬ 
tion  of  the  manure. 

Potato  Bugs. 

If  the  bugs  get  troublesome,  pick  them  off  bv  hand  or  poison 
tlKMii  with  Paris  green.  If  you  use  Paris  green  in  the  dry  form, 
mix  one  pound  of  it  with  fifty  pounds  of  flour.  Sprinkle  on 
leaves.  Where  water  is  used  take  fifty  gallons  of  water  to  one 


55 


pound  of  Paris  green.  Paris  green  is  deadly  poison  and  should 
be  put  out  of  the  way  of  children. 

Harvesting  Time. 

The  harvesting  time  is  when  the  vines  are  dead  and  cease  to 
show  green  on  the  stalks.  Do  not  break  the  skins  of  the  tubers, 
as  this  injuries  their  market  value.  Allow  the  tubers  to  dry  in 
the  held,  but  as  son  as  dry  remove  at  once  to  a  dry  place  for 
sorting.  Sometimes  the  sorting  is  done  in  the  held. 

The  Delaware  and  Maine  way  of  preparing  potatoes  for  the 
market  seems  to  be  a  good  way.  Sort  the  potatoes  into  three 
grades :  No.  1,  large,  regular  and  smooth,  having  no  tubers 
smaller  than  a  lien’s  egg;  No.  2,  those  about  the  size  of  a  hen’s 
egg;  No.  3,  pig  potatoes,  which  include  all  the  small  and  badly 
scabbed  potatoes  and  those  injured  in  digging.  This  kind  of 
grading  will  pay. 

Lesson  Plan  10. 

I.  Purpose  of  the  Lesson :  To  teach  the  pupils  how  to  treat 

diseased  garden  plants.  Secondly  to  give  some  idea  of 
how  solutions  may  be  made  in  order  to  destroy  insect 

fc/  t/ 

pests. 

II.  Analysis  of  the  Subject  Matter: 

(a)  The  time  to  spray. 

(b)  What  to  spray  with  and  what  for. 

(c)  Making  fungicides. 

(d)  The  making  of  insecticides. 

III.  Method  of  Presentation:  Have  the  pupils  in  the  class  to 

study  the  kinds  of  insects  they  find  on  their  garden 
crops.  Let  them  determine  what  remedy  is  needed  in 
order  to  kill  the  particular  insect.  Have  each  pupil  be¬ 
come  familiar  with  the  different  poisons  for  insects. 
Also  let  it  be  known  that  insect  poisons  will  injure  the 
human  body  if  allowed  to  enter  the  mouth.  The  teacher 
can  be  of  great  service  to  the  community  if  he  will 
teach  the  older  people  how  to  make  the  several  solutions 
and  the  application  of  the  same. 


56 


GENERAL  TREATMENT  FOR  DISEASED  GARDEN  PLANTS 


Lesson  16. 


Jime  to  Spray  for  Potato  Bugs. — Begin  to  spray  when  the 
bugs  first  appear  on  the  vines  and  continue  to  spray  every  ten 
days  until  the  growth  stops.  Spray  more  frequently  in  hot 
damp  weather  and  less  often  when  it  is  dry. 


•  T  <tp 

W  liat  to  Spray  W  ith  and  Why.- — Bordeaux  mixture  for  early 

%7 

blight  and  rot,  combined  with  lead  arsenate,  three  pounds  to 
fifty  gallons,  for  flea  beetles,  blister  beetles,  and  Colorado  po¬ 
tato  bugs.  Apply  the  Bordeaux  mixture  strong,  using  at  least 
one  pound  of  copper  sulphate  to  make  eight  gallons  of  the  mix¬ 
ture.  Any  book  on  plant  diseases  will  give  directions  how  to 
make  this  mixture.  The  several  mixtures  may  be  bought  out 
of  seed  stores. 


To  Prevent  Potato  Scab. — Use  commercial  formalin  (40  per 
cent,  solution)  1  pint  to  30  gallons  of  water.  This  is  enough 
for  twenty  bushels  of  seed.  The  mixture  may  be  used  several 
times.  Soak  uncut  potatoes  two  hours,  but  no  longer. 

General  Treatment  for  Cucumbers,  Squashes  and  Melons. — 
When  young  plants  come  through  the  ground,  sprinkle  tobacco 
dust  for  striped  beetle.  Repeat  it  frequently.  Use  Bordeaux 
mixture  for  blight,  flea  beetles  and  striped  beetle.  • 

When  lice  or  aphis  first  appear,  nicotine  sulphate  may  be 
used  wtih  good  results,  if  sprayed  carefully  under  the  side  of 
the  leaves. 


General  Treatment  for  Cabbage,  Collards  and  Cauliflower. — 
When  worms  first  appear,  begin  to  use  Paris  green  or  other 
arsenical  poison  in  dust.  Do  not  apply  poison  after  the  plant 
begins  to  head.  For  lice,  use  kerosene  emulsion.  Terrapin 
bugs  must  be  picked  off  by  hand. 


General  Treatment  for  All  Kinds  of  Plants. — For  all  leal- 
eating  insects,  such  as  slugs,  caterpillars  and  beetles,  use  Paris 
green  when  insects  first  appear.  Repeat  the  spray  when  neces¬ 


sary. 

v 


FUNGICIDES 


Bordeaux  Mixture  or  Fungicides. 


Copper  sulphate  (blue  vitriol) . 4  pounds 

Quicklime  (not  air  slaked) . 4  pounds 

Water  to  make  50  gallons. 


Dissolve  the  copper  sulphate  in  about  two  gallons  of  hot 
water,  contained  in  a  wooden  vessel,  by  stirring.  Pour  the  sul¬ 
phate  solution  into  the  barrel  or  tank  used  for  spraying,  and 
fill  to  one-half  full  of  water.  Slake  the  lime  by  adding  a  small 
quantity  of  water,  and  when  slaked  cover  freely  with  water  and 
stir.  Pour  the  milk  of  lime  thus  made  into  the  copper  sulphate, 
straining  it  through  a  brass  wire  strainer  with  very  fine  mesh. 
Pour  more  water  over  the  remaining  lime,  stir  and  pour  into 
the  other;  repeat  this  operation  until  all  the  lime  but  hard 
lumps  are  used  up  in  the  milk  of  lime.  Now  add  water  to  make 
50  gallons  in  the  tank.  After  thorough  mixing  the  material  is 
ready  for  use.  To  spray  very  tender  plants  use  two  pounds  of 
each  copper  sulphate  and  quicklime  instead  of  four  pounds.  In 
order  to  kill  flea  beetles,  and  potato  bugs  add  three  pounds  of 
arsenate  of  lead  in  50  gallons  of  the  spray. 

Commercial  Formalin  (40  per  cent  solution). 

Use  one  pint  of  formalin  to  thirty  gallons  of  water.  Stir 
well  before  using.  Spray  potatoes  for  the  scab.  Soak  uncut 
potatoes  for  two  hours,  but  no  longer. 

INSECTICIDES 
Paris  Green. 


Paris  Green . .  lpound 

Dime . 3  pounds 

Water .  100  to  200  gallons 


Upon  most  plants  Paris  green  without  the  lime  may  be  used 
up  to  about  the  first  of  July.  Later  than  this,  lime  should 
always  be  added  to  neutralize  the  free  acid.  Make  a  fine  spray 
on  the  foliage. 

Paris  green  may  be  applied  in  a  powder  form,  combined  with 
land  plaster,  at  the  rate  of  one  pound  to  one  hundred  pounds 


58 


of  plaster.  Paris  green  is  used  to  destroy  insects  that  bite  and 
chew  the  foliage  of  plants,  like  potato  bugs,  cabbage  and  collard 
worms. 

Kerosene  Emulsion. 


Soft  Soap  (or  sour  milk) . one  quart 

Kerosene . one  pint 

Water . six  to  ten  quarts 


Warm  the  soap  until  it  becomes  liquified,  remove  from  the 
fire,  add  the  kerosene  and  agitate  rapidly,  until  it  becomes  a 
creamy  mass,  from  which  the  kerosene  will  not  separate  on 
standing.  Dilute  with  water  so  that  the  kerosene  will  be  one- 
fifteenth  to  one-twenty-fifth  of  the  entire  mixture.  If  properly 
prepared,  it  can  be  used  with  safety  upon  naerly  all  plants,  ex¬ 
cept  squashes,  melons,  cucumbers  and  others  of  the  squash 
family.  This  is  a  remedy  for  all  sucking  insects,  and  for  others 
having  soft  bodies,  with  which  it  can  come  in  contact.  In 
spraying  with  kerosene  emulsion  the  solution  must  actually 
touch  the  insect  which  you  are  trying  to  kill. 

Sucking  insects,  such  as  plant  lice  and  true  bugs. — Tobacco 
dust  or  nicotine  sulphate,  soap  suds  or  kerosene  emulsion  will 
prove  beneficial.  Small  plants  or  ends  of  twigs  are  best  treated 
by  dipping. 

Anv  one  mav  get  more  literature  on  how  to  make  up  the  sev- 
eral  solutions  by  writing  to  any  of  the  Experiment  Stations 
or  to  the  Agricultural  and  Technical  College,  Greensboro,  N.  C. 


ADDITIONAL  EXPER I MENTS. 

Experiment  1. 

The  capacity  of  soils  to  take  in  rainfall.  Materials  needed 
for  the  experiment :  Five  soils,  namely,  sandy  loam,  sandy, 
clay,  clay  loam  and  leaf  mold,  or  you  may  use  the  common  mix¬ 
ture  of  soils  in  your  locality.  You  may  use  the  same  lamp 
chimneys  as  in  the  experiment  above.  Use  a  small  box  with 
holes  bored  through  the  bottom  for  the  chimneys  to  run 
through.  The  box  is  to  be  used  as  a  rack.  Now  put  the  chim¬ 
neys  in  the  rack  that  you  have  made  and  let  a  thin  piece  of 


50 


cloth  be  over  the  small  end  of  each  chimney.  Fill  each  one  11 1 > 
to  one  inch  of  the  top  with  different  kinds  of  soil.  Put  a  glass 
under  the  lower  end  of  each  chimney.  Now  take  a  glass  of 
water  and  pour  it  over  the  soil  in  the  first  chimney.  Note  the 
time  and  record  it.  How  long  before  water  begins  to  drop  out 
into  the  empty  glass?  Do  likewise  with  each  of  the  other  chim¬ 
neys  containing  the  several  soils.  Which  takes  water  most 
rapidly?  Notice  which  soils  drop  the  longest.  Which  would 
lose  water  more  easily?  Which  held  the  most  water?  What 
do  you  learn  from  this  experiment?  Use  a  watch  to  keep  the 
time  in  this  experiment. 

Experiment  2. 

Plant  melons,  squash  and  cucumber  seeds  in  small  boxes  in 
school  room  windows,  or  better  still,  have  a  window  box  made. 
In  this,  plant  seeds  one-half  inch,  one  inch,  two  inches  and  four 
inches  deep.  By  their  rapidity  of  growing  and  strength  deter¬ 
mine  the  best  depth  to  plant  each  of  these  seeds.  Also  plant  a 
few  grains  of  corn,  beans,  peas  and  wheat.  Observe  their 
method  of  coming  up.  Which  bring  out  the  hulls?  The  first 
leave  or  cotyledons,  as  they  are  called?  Which  come  up  in  a 
loop? 

Experiment  3. 

Plant  three  hills  of  potatoes  as  follows:  One  hill  containing 
a  seed  piece  with  one  eye,  one  with  two  eyes  and  one  with  a 
whole  potato.  Determine  from  the  product  of  these  hills  the 
number  of  eyes  to  plant.  Keep  notes  on  all  work  done.  Treat 
each  hill  alike. 

Experiment  4. 

Plant  six  hills  of  small  potatoes  and  plant  six  hills  of  large 
potatoes.  Work  both  plots  in  the  same  manner,  and  determine 
which  size  potatoes  are  best  to  plant. 

Experiment  5. 

Plant  six  hills  of  potatoes  to  the  plot.  Plant  one  plot  of 
potatoes  two  inches  deep.  Plant  second  plot  four  inches  deep, 
plant  the  third  plot  six  inches  deep,  plant  the  fourth  plot  eigh¬ 
teen  inches  deep.  Cultivate  all  the  plots  in  the  same  manner. 
Keep  a  record  and  determine  the  best  depth  to  plant  potatoes. 


C>  0 


Experiment  <>. 

To  show  the  best  depth  to  plant  corn,  beans  or  any  other 
seed,  take  a  small  pickle  bottle,  fill  with  good  garden  soil. 
^  putting  in  the  soil  insert  a  grain  or  corn  at  each  inch  of 
depth.  Let  seed  be  against  the  inside  of  the  vessel  so  they  may 
be  observed.  Be  sure  to  notice  how  soon  they  come  up;  see 
whether  the  plants  take  the  seed  with  them  or  leave  it  behind. 
Determine  whether  the  plants  or  roots  are  formed  first. 


Experiment  7. 

Take  two  lamp  chimneys.  Tie  a  thin  piece  of  cloth  over  one 
end  so  that  they  can  be  filled;  now  fill  one  chimney  with  fine 
soil  and  the  other  with  a  very  coarse  soil.  Set  them  in  a  pan 
of  water  with  the  closed  end  down.  Let  one  side  be  slightly 
raised  so  the  water  can  get  in  freely.  Watch  the  water  rise 
through  the  two  types  of  soil.  Does  it  rise  with  equal  rapidity? 
Repeat  the  experiment  by  filling  the  one  chimney  half  full  of 
fine  soil  and  the  other  half  with  coarse  soil.  Put  in  water  as 
before  and  notice  what  happens  when  water  passes  through  tin? 
fine  soil.  This  experiment  explains  the  reason  why  the  soil 
should  be  constantly  stirred  and  kept  fine. 


Indoor  Experiments. 

Experiment  8. 

Put  some  radish,  oats  or  other  small  seeds  between  two  pieces 
of  moist  blotting  paper  or  cloth.  Put  these  between  two  plates 
to  keep  wet.  Keep  these  papers  moist.  At  the  same  time  plant 
a  few  seed  in  soil  either  out  of  doors  or  in  a  can  indoors.  After 
a  few  days  the  plants  should  be  examined.  Note  that  there  are 
small  thread-like  hairs  on  the  tips  of  the  roots.  Do  you  see 
any  hairs  on  the  tips  of  the  roots?  If  so,  why?  Would  these 
tiny  rootlets  be  broken  off  pushing  through  the  soil  if  they 
were  on  the  ends  of  the  larger  roots?  The  use  of  these  root 
hairs  is  to  penetrate  the  soil  or  spaces  between  particles.  Now 
pull  up  one  of  the  plants  growing  in  the  soil.  Notice  particles 
of  dirt  clinging  to  the  root  hairs.  Many  of  the  hairs  will  be 
pulled  off  in  taking  up  the  plant.  These  little  tiny  roots  absorb 
the  soil  elements  needed  by  the  plants  to  make  the  different 
parts. 


61 


Experiment  9. 

Roots  require  a  great  deal  of  moisture  and  they  grow  in  the 
direction  of  the  moisture.  Plant  a  few  seeds  in  the  end  of  a 
chalk  box.  Keep  the  soil  in  the  opposite  end  wet.  The  roots 
will  grow  toward  the  wet  end,  showing  that  roots  seek  mois* 
ture. 

Experiment  10. 

It  is  easily  proved  that  plants  will  not  send  their  roots  deep 
into  the  soil  if  the  ground  is  not  well  drained.  Get  two  tomato 
cans  and  till  them  with  soil.  Have  several  holes  put  in  the  bot¬ 
tom  of  each  can,  so  the  soil  may  drain  off  the  water.  Let  the 
other  one  be  tight,  to  hold  the  water.  Plant  corn  or  beans  in 
both  of  the  cans  and  water  both  well.  After  a  few  days  pull  up 
the  plants,  compare  the  root  growth.  Wliat  advantage  is  it  to 
the  farmer? 


62 


